1984
Winston Smith lives in a society where the government controls people every second of the day. He fights this world with love. But it's dangerous: love for another person can be punished by death - and Big Brother is always watching. Orwell's classic story shows that there is no freedom unless ideas and beliefs can be questioned. This is as true today as when it was written, more than fifty years ago. --back cover
Where 1984 keeps showing up
Ten of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Also by George Orwell
Books in conversation with 1984
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about 1984
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, falsifying history one memo at a time. He starts a forbidden diary, falls for a coworker named Julia, and begins testing how far he can think before someone notices.
1984 has been challenged and banned in various countries and school districts since its 1949 publication. Common objections cite sexual content, anti-government themes, and language. It remains widely taught and is openly available in most countries today.
1984 is fictional but reflects George Orwell's observations of real totalitarian regimes, particularly Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. The novel exaggerates and combines surveillance and propaganda techniques he saw in his lifetime to extrapolate a possible future.
1984 introduced phrases that have entered everyday English, including Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, and Orwellian. The novel's vision of total state surveillance and language control has shaped political discourse and dystopian fiction for over 75 years.
The prose in 1984 is direct and clear, but the novel includes long political tracts and a deliberately bleak tone. Most adult readers find it accessible, though emotionally heavy. It is commonly assigned in high school and college courses.
1984 was written by George Orwell, published in 1949 by Editorial Alma.
1984 is 72 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, 1984 takes most readers 1 to 2 hours to finish.
1984 is a standalone novel by George Orwell, not part of a series.
1984 is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
