Four Orwell books with graphic art covers, next to a mug of tea, a plant and a blanket.

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Reading lists

Where to start reading George Orwell

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Must-read sci-fi classics

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Features

How George Orwell covers have evolved through the decades

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10 times fiction changed the world

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20 books everyone should read before they’re 20

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Animal Farm: How the covers have changed through the decades

Best dystopian books

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A Hebridean island, grow-your-own and boat accidents: Nineteen Eighty-Four’s unlikely genesis

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Books that shaped the 1940s

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Books they tried to ban

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12 essential George Orwell quotes about freedom

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11 scarily accurate George Orwell quotes about truth

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7 riveting novels on battles for power

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Extracts

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Homage to Catalonia

A war story that is both brutally honest and lyrically beautiful

Homage to Catalonia belongs in any list of important books on the Spanish civil war

George Orwell (1903–1950) is one of England's most famous writers and social commentators. He is the author of the classic political satire Animal Farm and the dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four. He is also well known for his essays and journalism, particularly his works covering his travels and his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War. His writing is celebrated for its piercing clarity, purpose and wit and his books continue to be bestsellers all over the world.

This is Orwell's memoir of his experiences during the Spanish Civil War - a groundbreaking work of dissident literature drawn from vivid personal experience. 
 
There are occasions where it pays better to fight and be beaten than not to fight at all... 
 
This is dissident literature drawn from vivid personal experience. Orwell volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War, was near-fatally wounded and survived to write this book about the experience. Written with all the deep human understanding that defines Orwell’s writing, he vividly recounts the battles that were faced by ordinary working people as they fought for both their lives and their ideologies. Using first-hand experience, his capacity for observation and the clarity and conviction of his writing, Orwell reveals the real-world effects of totalitarianism. 
 
'The finest model of how to write about a foreign conflict, a war or a revolution... Brilliant reportage' Timothy Garten-Ash 
 
'[Orwell] describes what is happening in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War in such a way that we are able to see why he’s so upset about Soviet power. His argument is not one of category and concept but of irresistible observation' Timothy Snyder 
 
'When he went to Spain, [Orwell] was an unknown. He wasn’t Hemingway. He wasn’t a well-connected intellectual. He just had this amazing eye for detail. He was an amazing observer, and he could write so powerfully. This book, to me, is just one of the classics of foreign reporting' Guy Raz

1984

Orwell remains the most indispensable English writer of his period

Matchlessly sharp and fresh... The clearest and most compelling English prose style this century

Many writers and journalists have tried to imitate his particular kind of clarity without possessing anything like his moral authority

George Orwell (Author) 
George Orwell (1903-1950) is one of England's most famous writers and social commentators. He is the author of the classic political satire Animal Farm and the dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four. He is also well known for his essays and journalism, particularly his works covering his travels and his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War. His writing is celebrated for its piercing clarity, purpose and wit and his books continue to be bestsellers all over the world. 
 
Robert Harris (Introducer) 
Robert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.

A dystopian masterpiece - the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century. 
 
The year is 1984. War and revolution have created an unrecognisable world. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. Mass surveillance is total and The Thought Police ensure no individual thinking is allowed. 
 
Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. It is here that he falls in love with Julia, and starts a secret, forbidden affair with her - but in this world nothing can be kept secret, and they are forced to face consequences more terrifying than either of them could have ever imagined. 
 
'A profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating book' New Yorker 
 
'No novel of the past century has had more influence than George Orwell&rsquo;s 1984' Atlantic 
 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ROBERT HARRIS

Animal Farm

Remains our great satire of the darker face of modern history

Animal Farm has seen off all the opposition. It's as valid as today as it was fifty years ago

It immediately established itself in the reader's imagination, and in the reader's political discourse. The book will survive all its editions

Surely one of the greatest works of literature of the 20th century, delivering truths about politics that remain, to this hour, horribly disturbing

To say that I was horrified by this book is an understatement&hellip; The whole experience was deeply disturbing to me, but I am forever grateful to Orwell for alerting me early to the danger flags I've tried to watch out for since

George Orwell (Author) 
George Orwell (1903-1950) is one of England's most famous writers and social commentators. He is the author of the classic political satire Animal Farm and the dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four. He is also well known for his essays and journalism, particularly his works covering his travels and his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War. His writing is celebrated for its piercing clarity, purpose and wit and his books continue to be bestsellers all over the world. 
 
Christopher Hitchens (Introducer) 
Christopher Hitchens was an English-born American author, journalist and literary critic. He was a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Slate, Free Inquiry, and a variety of other media in a career that spanned more than four decades and made him a prominent public intellectual, and a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. His books include The Monarchy; Blood, Class, and Nostalgia; No One Left to Lie Toand God Is Not Great. He died in 2011.

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others' 
 
Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, is a lazy drunk. The animals decide to overthrow him in a revolution that will allow them to run the farm, liberating themselves and creating a new life of equality and freedom. But they have underestimated the pigs. Napoleon and Snowball form an elite and take control for themselves, and the tyranny of the farmer is replaced with another kind of control leaving the animals again subject to a ruthless and cruel authority. 
 
Imagined only as Orwell could, this powerful fable is instilled with humour and an underlying urgency that makes this one of the most prescient warnings ever written. 
 
'Surely one of the greatest works of literature of the 20th century, delivering truths about politics that remain, to this hour, horribly disturbing' The Times 
 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

Down and Out in Paris and London

An extraordinary and curious book: beautifully phrased, meticulous, honest and funny. George Orwell&rsquo;s 1933 memoir, and a study of poverty, is a book both rooted in its era and able to transcend it... a book that has inspired countless people to try to understand the personal and political issues at the heart of homelessness &ndash; and continues to do so today.

Vivid and lurid and unappetizing, are the pictures he gives of what goes on behind the scenes, human and otherwise

It was the book of nonfiction in which he becomes George Orwell

'You can live on a shilling a day in Paris if you know how. But it is a complicated business' 
 
As a struggling writer in his twenties, Orwell lived as a down-and-out among the poorest members of society. In this, his early memoir, Orwell recalls with vivid clarity his time working as a penniless dishwasher in Paris, pawning clothes to buy a day's worth of bread and wine, sleeping in bug-infested bunks, trading survival skills and cigarette butts with fellow tramps, and trudging between London's workhouse spikes for a few hours' sleep and tea. With all of the sensitivity and compassion that Orwell is known and loved for, he exposed the hardships of poverty and gave readers an unprecedented look at life lived on the fringes of society. 
 
This vivid account is an enduring call to support the world's most vulnerable people and exemplifies his belief that 'The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty.' 
 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY KERRY HUDSON

Four Full-Cast Dramatisations of Modern Classics

Banned Books: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Four modern masterpieces that dared to push boundaries and disrupt the status quo 
 
Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music. 
 
Ulysses – Prosecuted for obscenity in the UK and US, James Joyce’s seminal novel tells the combined stories of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, as they wander through Dublin on one ordinary day: 16th June 1904. 
 
The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall’s groundbreaking tale of lesbian love was judged as obscene soon after its publication in 1928, and banned in the UK for over 20 years. It centres around Stephen, a baby girl born to well-to-do parents who grows up feeling ‘different’ and knows she will never be attracted to a man. But will she always be an outcast? 
 
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley's visionary dystopian fable, banned in Ireland and Australia when it first appeared in 1932, portrays a corrupt future society where promiscuity is the norm, eugenics a respectable science and the drug soma is the opiate of the people. Token dissidents Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson long to be free – but it is an outsider, John ‘the Savage’, who shows them the true meaning of rebellion. 
 
Nineteen Eighty-Four – London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Ministry of Truth employee Winston Smith finds love with Julia, the duo begin to question the Party – but for enemies of the state, Room 101 awaits… George Orwell’s classic tale, banned in the Soviet Union until 1988 and still one of the most-challenged books in the USA today. 
 
The star-studded casts of these dramatisations include Andrew Scott, Henry Goodman, Niamh Cusack, Stephen Rea, Valerie Edmond, Amanda Root, Justin Salinger, John Coy, Milton Lopes, Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon and Tim Pigott-Smith. 
 
First published 1918 (Ulysses), 1928 (The Well of Loneliness), 1932 (Brave New World), 1949 (Nineteen Eighty-Four) 
 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Ulysses 
Cast: Stephen Rea, Andrew Scott, Kevin Trainor, Harry Livingstone, Janet Moran, Ronan Raftery, Jim Norton, Joshua Ellershaw, Aidan Dunlop, Henry Goodman, Niamh Cusack, Grainne Keenan, Stephen Hogan, Des McAleer, Christine Absalom, Jonathan Forbes, Bronagh Taggart, Sean Campion, John Rogan, Peter Hamilton Dyer, Joshua Ellershaw, Lorcan Cranitch, Gerard McDermott, Denise Gough, Pip Donaghy, Frances Barber, Susie Riddell 
 
Written by James Joyce 
Dramatised by Robin Brooks 
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer and Jonquil Panting 
Produced by Jeremy Mortimer 
Executive producer: Claire Grove 
Singer: Daire Halpin 
Pianist: Colin Guthrie 
 
The Well of Loneliness 
Cast: Valerie Edmond, Alexandra Bateman, Roberta Kerr, Rob Pickvance, Amanda Root, Sarah Parks, Paul Warriner, Russell Dixon, Katy Cavanagh, Sara Kaplan, Thomas Hudson, Martin Reeve, Paul Warriner, Katy Cavanagh, Malcolm Hebden 
 
Written by Radclyffe Hall 
Dramatised by Sarah Woods 
Directed by Melanie Harris 
Music composed and performed by Odaline de la Martinez 
Celloist: Andy Wardale 
Violinist: Janet Fuste 
 
Brave New World 
Cast: Justin Salinger, Jonathan Coy, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Anton Lesser, Milton Lopes, Karina Fernandez, Nicola Ferguson, Sam Rix, James Lailey, Sean Baker, Scarlett Brookes, Brian Protheroe, Nick Underwood 
 
Written by Aldous Huxley 
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway 
Directed by David Hunter 
 
Nineteen Eighty-Four 
Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon, Tim Pigott-Smith, Kim Wall, Robert Blythe, Sam Alexander, Susie Riddell, Christine Absalom, Don Gilet, Joe Sims and Joshua Swinney 
 
Written by George Orwell 
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway 
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
 
 
(P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A special student edition of Orwell's timeless fable, with an introduction and study notes 
 
When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them starts to take control, and the animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. 
 
This special student edition of George Orwell’s chilling satire is specifically designed for readers who are studying the text in detail. It has extra-wide margins to leave space for notes, and includes an introduction and notes by Orwell expert Ronald Carter, character sketches, a summary, a chronology, language notes and a selection of questions and topics for discussion and analysis.

Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950), better known by his pen-name, George Orwell, was born in India, where his father worked for the Civil Service. An author and journalist, Orwell was one of the most prominent and influential figures in twentieth-century literature. His unique political allegory Animal Farm was published in 1945, and it was this novel, together with the dystopia of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which brought him world-wide fame. His novels and non-fiction include Burmese Days, Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia.

When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. Soon the other animals discover that they are not all as equal as they thought, and find themselves hopelessly ensnared as one form of tyranny is replaced with another. Orwell's chilling 'fairy story' is a timeless and devastating satire of idealism betrayed by power and corruption. 
 
 
This student reader edition has extra-wide margins to accommodate annotations, and includes an introduction and notes by Ronald Carter.

George Orwell

Can Socialists be Happy?

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