This account of Orwell's life focuses on what influenced Orwell, his relations with publishers and editors, and on certain key experiences in his life: the deposition that, while fighting in the Spanish Civil War, he was guilty of espionage and high treason; his work at the BBC, especially in developing 'cultural propaganda' and as the forerunner of the Open University; his interest in pamphlet literature; his time as a war correspondent; and his activities during the Cold War. A detailed analysis of his earnings between 1922 to 1945 reveals how very poor he was and challenges the widely-held, but unsustainable belief that he was paid a large sum to investigate conditions in Wigam.