Nineteen Eighty-Four

George Orwell's masterwork, now in the Penguin Clothbound Classics series with a cover designed by Coralie Bickford-SmithOne of the BBC's '100 Novels that Shaped the 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, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of Big Brother, symbolic head of the Party. In his longing for truth and liberty, Smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker Julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal. George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece, Nineteen Eighty-Four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.

Penguin Clothbound Classics are bound in cloth and not paper. The design is stamped on in foil, and each cover repeats one small icon taken from the story. The series was designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, who took her inspiration from Victorian bookbinding. Each book has coloured endpapers and a ribbon bookmark. They make beautiful presents.

The foil can rub off if the books are stacked tightly, so give them a little room on the shelf.

Author: George Orwell

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Classic fiction (pre c 1945)

Published on 7 Jan 2021 by Penguin Books Ltd.