Oliver Lewis

Oliver Lewis is a British historian and author, currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford. He is pursuing a DPhil in Economic and Social History, focusing on the privatisation of British Rail and its impact on users, employees, and taxpayers.

Born and raised in Northamptonshire, Oliver attended Magdalen College School. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Government and History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He then earned a Master's degree in Contemporary British History from King's College London, winning the First Prize in the Institute For Government Essay Competition in 2016.

After a career in financial services, Oliver returned to academia. His research interests include the life and works of George Orwell and John Steinbeck. His study on Orwell led him to visit various locations associated with Orwell's life and work.

Oliver's first book, The Orwell Tour: Travels Through the Life and Work of George Orwell (2023), describes the places Orwell lived, worked, and wrote. Over three years, Oliver travelled from Wigan to Catalonia, Paris to Motihari, and Marrakesh to Eton. The book starts in Northern India, where Orwell was born in 1903, and ends in Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, where he died in 1950. This work provides a biography of Orwell through the locations that shaped his life and writing.

Oliver has also published columns in various publications and specialises in public history and literature. He resides between London, Montgomery, and Oxford.

Photo credit: IG @madeinmontgomery