Published in 1949, and written while Orwell was seriously ill with tuberculosis, 1984 is perhaps Orwell’s most famous work. The story of Winston Smith, who rewrites Times editorials at the Ministry of Truth to suit the Party’s version of events, 1984 introduced ‘Big Brother’, ‘thought police’, ‘Room 101’, ‘doublethink’ and ‘newspeak’ to the English language. A satire on totalitarianism, 1984 is a testament to the potential power of modern political systems, and the dark side of human nature: as O’Brien tells Winston, ‘the object of power is power’.
In 2017 The Orwell Foundation, in collaboration with Director Hannah Price, producer Libby Brodie and UCL hosted the UK’s first live reading of Nineteen Eighty-four at Senate House, the inspiration for Orwell’s ‘Ministry of Truth’.