On Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Biography of George Orwell's Masterpiece

The essential backstory to the creation and meaning of one of the most important novels of the twentieth century—and now the twenty-first.

Since its publication nearly seventy years ago, George Orwell’s 1984 has been regarded as one of the most influential novels of the modern age. Politicians have testified to its influence on their intellectual identities, rock musicians have made records about it, TV viewers watch a reality show named for it, and a White House spokesperson tells of “alter...