Orwell's Southwold
Sir: Richard West begins his article on Southwold (28 November) by challenging my correction of his claim in an earlier article that it was 'the favourite resort' of George Orwell (August 1980). He also mentions the fact that I am employed by the Rationalist Press Association, which is about as relevant as the fact that I was once employed by his parents, and he calls me a notorious writer of letters to editors, which is about as relevant as calling him a notorious writer of articles.
Despite all this displacement activity, I must insist that he is still wrong about the point at issue. He now says, `It seems that Orwell actually liked Southwold,' which is more cautious than his original claim but just as false. Orwell certainly liked the sea and woods there and presumably liked his friends and lovers there, but he never said nice things and often said nasty things about the town. According to his sister Avril — who kept a tea shop, not a coffee shop, if it matters — he disliked it because of the stuffy society.
It is obvious to anyone who knows Southwold and A Clergyman's Daughter that `Knype Hill' is based on the town — the brewery probably being changed to a sugar-beet refinery to avoid the libel trouble all his early books suffered from. I don't share West's opinion about the novel — though Orwell did, calling it 'tripe' and 'bollox' — but I do share West's opinion about Southwold. However there is really no doubt that Orwell's own opinion was unfavourable, so West's new article is as misleading as his original remark.
Nicolas Walter
134 Northumberland Road, Harrow, Middlesex
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