Kāpiti College Library

Notes

There are no replacements for George Orwell, just as there are no replacements for a Bernard Shaw or a Mark Twain...he pricked, provoked and badgered lazy minds, delighted those who enjoyed watching an original intelligence at work. Time Magazine
Two of the greatest and most influential works of the twentieth century, together in one edition: 1984, with an introduction by Charlotte Wood, and Animal Farm, with an introduction by Don Watson.
George Orwells novels about the dangers of tyranny, the corruption of the state and the enslavement of the individual are essential reading. In an era of doublespeak, they remain chillingly prophetic.
George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair (19031950), was a teacher, novelist and journalist. He also served his country including in the Home Guard during the Second World War. He later became the literary editor of the Tribune and wrote for the Observer and Manchester Evening News. The author of nine books, Orwell is best known for the allegorical Animal Farm (1945) and dystopian satire 1984 (1949). They have gone on the become two of the most influential books of the twentieth century. PRAISE FOR 1984:
Right up there among my favourite booksI read it again and again. Margaret Atwood
The book of the twentieth centuryhaunts us with an ever-darker relevance. Independent
A profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating bookOrwells theory of power is developed brilliantly. New Yorker
A book that goes through the reader like an east wind, cracking the skinSuch are the originality, the suspense, the speed of writing and withering indignation that it is impossible to put the book down. V. S. Pritchett
A remarkable book; as a virtuoso literary performance it has a sustained brilliance that has rarely been matched in other works of its genreIt is as timely as the label on a poison bottle. New York Herald Tribune
PRAISE FOR ANIMAL FARM:
A wise, compassionate, and illuminating fable. New York Times
A book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed after fifty years. Ruth Rendell
Timeless, even transcendent. Christopher Hitchens
Absolutely first rate. New Yorker