George Orwell was in his mid-40s, enjoying the peak of his fame after the publication of Animal Farm. Yet his mood was low after the death of his wife, Eileen. He was in Wales with his friend Arthur Koestler, where they were joined by 27-year-old Celia Kirwan. She and Orwell spent the night together, with Kirwan commenting afterwards that the author made love “Burma-sergeant fashion”, clearly in a hurry and simply saying: “Ah, that’s better” before turning over.
This story is included in a recent book, Wifedom, about the marriage of Orwell and his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy. However, the author is now at the centre of a row about the veracity of some of the claims that she makes, including this one.
