Craig Easton's Photographic Journey to Orwell's Jura

Photographer Craig Easton has published 'An Extremely Un-get-atable Place' with GOST Books, a photographic exploration of Barnhill, the remote farmhouse on the Isle of Jura where George Orwell wrote 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' between 1946 and 1949. The book features silver gelatin prints from Easton's large format 10x8 field camera, toned with strong tea during development—a technique that references Orwell's own essay 'A Nice Cup of Tea,' which is included alongside extracts from his diaries and letters. Easton's landscapes defy expectations: more trees than deer appear, despite Jura's nickname 'Island of Deer' (from Old Norse 'Dyrøy') and its treeless reputation due to deer preventing sapling growth. The book also captures interior shots of Barnhill, including a teapot, and photographs of Orwell's draft pages. Orwell, struggling with tuberculosis, wrote to Mamaine Koestler in January 1947 thanking her for tea, noting they always drank more than legally available. The book will be available at Photo London from May 14-17, 2025, priced at £50, with Easton signing copies on May 14 at 2PM. The review also references Anna Funder's 'Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life,' which critiques Orwell's treatment of his first wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy, who contributed to his work but was not credited in 'Homage to Catalonia' and wrote a 1934 poem titled 'End of the Century, 1984.'