Nineteen Eighty-Four Published

The cover of the first edition of George Orwell's classic novel

Historical Context

George Orwell's classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is set in a dystopian future Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, run by a totalitarian government. Themes of mass surveillance, propaganda and war pervade the novel, which gave rise to well-known terms today like Big Brother, thoughtcrime, doublethink, Thought Police, Newspeak, Room 101 and many others.

The novel follows a member of the ruling party in Oceania (the superstate in which Airstrip One is located) named Winston Smith who secretly despises the government, dreams of overthrowing it and enters into a banned relationship with Julia, his colleague. Nineteen Eighty-Four is Orwell's most famous work and gave rise to the term Orwellian, used to describe anything immensely restrictive and harmful to a free society.

The book has been adapted into many forms, including a film released in the year 1984 and starring John Hurt and Richard Burton.