It’s the year 1984 and Britain, now known as Oceania, has been thrust into a perpetual darkness of war, propaganda, and constant surveillance. In this Orwellian world, nothing is private and not even your thoughts are safe.

‘The past was dead, the future was unimaginable.’

Winston Smith hates Oceania. He hates the governing party of Ingsoc. And most of all, he hates the ever-watchful eye of Big Brother. When an illicit romantic relationship fills him with ideas of revolt, he begins to remember what life was like before the oppressive regime. As his rebellious thoughts materialise in dangerous acts of treason, could he help to instigate the fall of the totalitarian system?

Modelled on Stalinist Russia, George Orwell’s famed novel Nineteen Eighty-Four explores the position of truth within politics and testifies to the harsh reality of life under dictatorial rule. First published in 1949, this new edition of the classic dystopian work is now complete with an introductory essay, ‘Why I Write’, by the author.