Homage to Catalonia described the experience of fighting for a maverick socialist faction in the Spanish Civil War, which led him to the shocking revelation that Stalinism was no better than fascism. The Road to Wigan Pier was his spiky argument for a form of socialism that truly understood the English worker. Down and Out in Paris and London, the debut book which turned the old Etonian and former colonial policeman Eric Blair into the radical journalist George Orwell, revealed the politically naïve 29-year-old’s compassion for the downtrodden and his appreciation for human eccentricity. In Orwell’s non-fiction, meanwhile, we can trace the evolution of a political philosophy in which social justice goes hand in hand with freedom of speech and a deep respect for the individual. In his first four novels, we see the recurring story of an unhappy individual who rebels against a stifling social orthodoxy – imperialism, religion, capitalism, suburbia – and winds up thoroughly defeated, albeit less violently than Winston Smith. Nineteen Eighty-Four, in particular, was a culmination of ideas he had been turning over in his mind throughout his working life.

Orwell’s earlier work, however, is essential to understanding those books. In fact, most of his books and journalism would likely have fallen out of print if not for his two deathless late masterpieces about the psychology and practice of totalitarianism. Prior to the publication of Animal Farm in 1945, Orwell had published four novels and three works of non-fiction, but only The Road to Wigan Pier had sold in significant numbers and none had furnished him with enough royalties to survive as a full-time author.

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.Ī dystopian masterpiece, this is the powerful and prophetic novel that defined the twentieth century.George Orwell’s career is unusual in that most people start at the end and work backwards. But Winston dreams of freedom, and of rebellion. Winston Smith works at The Ministry of Truth, carefully rewriting history. Mass surveillance is everything and The Thought Police ensure no individual thinking is allowed. Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, is ruled by the Party, led by Big Brother. War and revolution have left the world unrecognisable.

'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.' Four of George Orwell's most essential books, 1984, Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London and Homage to Catalonia available for the first time in Vintage Classics with a stunning and unexpected new cover look

George orwell 1984 and animal farm