Politics and the English Language

Born Eric Arthur Blair (1903–1950), George Orwell was an English journalist, writer and critic. Orwell devoted his life to working against extremism, and in his description of how authoritarian regimes pervade our thoughts, he gave us a new vocabulary to understand totalitarianism. He is best remembered today for his innumerable essays, his novels – in particular Animal Farm and 1984 – and his longer non-fiction, especially The Road to Wigan Pier and Down Out in Paris and London.

'Anybody who wants to write better will learn much from this essay… It is simultaneously hilarious and a dreadful warning.' (Allan Massie, The Scotsman) 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' (Irish Times)

• Politics and the English Language, Note on the Text, Notes, A Brief Biographical Sketch of George Orwell