Nineteen Eighty-Four

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

Hidden away in the Record Department of the sprawling Ministry of Truth, Winston Smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the Party. Yet, he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in—a world that demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, the symbolic head of the Party.

In his longing for truth and liberty, Winston begins a secret love affair with a fellow worker, Julia. However, he soon discovers that the true price of freedom is betrayal.

Why This Book Matters:

George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four, is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.