George Orwell, avid outdoorsman

Read George Orwell's essay 'Why I Write,' the writer's memoir on how he came to literature.

A critic evaluates Orwell's lesser-known books

Orwell is primarily known for "Animal Farm" and "1984," but The Critic's Alexander Larman argues that Orwell's other titles—especially the 1936 novel "Keep the Aspidistra Flying"—are also worthy reads. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Writer Christopher Hitchens on why Orwell matters

In this 2008 segment with NPR, the author of "Why Orwell Matters" discusses his admiration for the author and fields questions from callers. Hitchens notes that anyone can write about tyranny, but that Orwell's brilliance is in exploring why people "are so keen to obey."

George Orwell's '1984' is one of the most famous dystopian works

Orwell's life experiences, from living among the poor to witnessing the rise of authoritarian regimes, deeply shaped his worldview. His iconic works, "Animal Farm" and "1984," offered stark warnings about power, control, and propaganda, making him one of the most enduring voices against totalitarianism.

George Orwell's original preface to 'Animal Farm' criticized the publishers who had rejected the book for political reasons.

How Orwell's time in Myanmar influenced his writing

Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police in Myanmar (then Burma, a British colony) in 1922, at 19. In her introduction for Orwell's debut novel, "Burmese Days," Emma Larkin unpacks how Orwell's five years working there shaped the book and informed his politics, especially his negative view of colonialism.

See the list of alleged communists Orwell gave to the British government

In 1949, Orwell provided a list of communist sympathizers to a British anti-communist propaganda unit, naming figures like actor Charlie Chaplin and writer John Steinbeck. When it was made public in 2003, some called Orwell a government informant, though others blamed his tuberculosis, which would take his life a year later, while others blamed his romantic interest in the woman who asked him for the names.

Why Orwell called Dalí a 'disgusting human being'

Writer George Orwell took offense at the disturbing actions described in Dalí's salacious autobiography "The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí." In a 1944 essay, Orwell described the cruelty and moral degradation of Dalí—while also admitting the artist's undeniable talent.

Browse an Orwell superfan's book collection

This Brown University Library exhibit displays scans from collector Daniel Leab's extensive trove of Orwell's works, including many first editions and translations. In addition to the beautiful covers, there's also plenty of fascinating bibliographic information.

Hear 2 literature professors unpack the legacy of 'Animal Farm'

The University of Oxford's David Dwan—a professor of English literature and intellectual history—is an Orwell scholar who has written about the author's politics, especially as they relate to "Animal Farm." In this conversation with Dr. Nathan Waddell, from the University of Birmingham, UK, Dwan explores how framing the novella as a beast fable both made it more accessible and allowed it to be overly simplified.

Why Orwell fought in the Spanish civil war

Orwell wanted to volunteer for the International Brigades, a loose conglomerate of leftists fighting against Franco's Nationalists, in order to participate in what he saw as a struggle against fascism. The group rejected him, though Orwell still made his way to Barcelona to fight with a smaller sect, an experience that's laid out in this history from William Chislett.

How a sick George Orwell finished '1984'

The writer worked on the novel while living in a remote cottage in Scotland. While he was there, he was in a boating accident that sent him overboard, eventually leading to a fatal bout of tuberculosis. Orwell finished the novel (and massive revisions) while trying to recover. He died in 1950, at 46.

The nonfiction book that kick-started Orwell's career

1935's "The Road to Wigan Pier" was a piece of investigative journalism that explored how the impoverished were handling the Great Depression, known in England as "the Slump." Orwell divided the book into two parts: One that described the living conditions of the working poor, and the other that criticized middle-class socialists' ineffectiveness at helping them.

Orwell warned readers about how abuse of language can lead to dystopias

In his 1946 essay "Politics and the English Language," Orwell argues that language is the primary tool of political control and is "designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." The essay warns readers that how they use and consume language will dictate what they permit—or prohibit—in society.

An academic on why the animals in 'Animal Farm' matter

Although Orwell intentionally wrote his 1945 novella as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, Charlotte Sleigh—an associate professor of science and technology—argues that the text can also be used to understand (and complicate) our relationship with the nonhuman world.

T.S. Eliot rejected George Orwell's 'Animal Farm,' suggesting that the despotic pigs might be the best leaders for the farm.

Why both the left and the right use 'Animal Farm' as an allegory

Figures from both ends of the political spectrum have claimed Orwell's novella as their own, sometimes ignoring inconvenient aspects of the plot or details of Orwell's biography. This analysis of those political reactions explores why the text is so malleable.

George Orwell: What is fascism?

This 1944 article by George Orwell attempts to answer the question, "What is fascism?" Orwell's book Animal Farm was published at about the same time at the article, and he penned 1984, a book with anti-totalitarianism sentiments, a few years afterward. In this article, Orwell argues that the term "fascism" has become near "meaningless" due to being essentially demoted to a swearword.

Aldous Huxley, author of 'Brave New World,' wrote to his former student, George Orwell, after the release of '1984,' suggesting that Orwell's vision of dystopia was misguided.

What it means to call something 'Orwellian'

The adjective often refers to anything that resembles the dystopian governments of George Orwell, usually a state like the one in "1984" that monitors its citizens to ensure compliance. But as this video essay from Noah Tavlin makes clear, the more precise definition is a society that redefines language to control thought.

Read the scathing review of '1984' by science fiction legend Isaac Asimov

Asimov, the author of the "Foundation" series and a major figure in science fiction, tore Orwell's novel apart in a 1980 review, writing, "This is not science fiction, but a distorted nostalgia for a past that never was."

A prominent writer analyzes Thoreau's apparent contradictions

Some call Thoreau a monkish hermit living in the woods, while others say he's a privileged layabout who was playacting a simple life. In this essay, Rebecca Solnit argues that both of those assessments are caricatures that reduce a complex man who reckoned with complex ideas.

Browse a fan-made 'Newspeak Dictionary'

In Orwell's "1984," citizens of Oceania are expected to use Newspeak, a form of English that limits abstract thought and reinforces the government's version of reality. This satirical dictionary of the language demonstrates how Orwell constructed a lexicon for his fictional world.

David Attenborough reflects on some of his most moving natural encounters

The legendary natural historian has had more direct encounters with wildlife than most people in history. As he turned 99, the Englishman recounts his favorite encounters with marine life, from whales to capuchin monkeys in mangroves. Despite the obstacles the environment faces, Attenborough believes in nature's resilience.

Read 10 of the best quotes about nature from David Attenborough

From reflecting on the interconnectedness of life and humanity's shared responsibility to protect biodiversity to the power of young people in driving change and understanding nature's beauty and importance, this list highlights some of the most noteworthy things said by the famed natural historian.

The long-tail influence of Thoreau's 'Civil Disobedience'

His essay "Civil Disobedience" laid out both a practical and a moral plan for resisting unjust governments, inspiring civil rights leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as anti-war anarchists like Emma Goldman and literary figures like Leo Tolstoy.

The political theory of Henry David Thoreau

The two years, two months, and two days that Thoreau spent living in a modest cabin at Walden Pond informed his beliefs that people should live simply, deliberately, and become self-reliant. Those beliefs were later articulated, in a political sense, in his landmark essay, "Civil Disobedience."

The real James Bond wasn't a spy—he was a birdwatcher

Ian Fleming needed a name for his spy protagonist and found it in a book about birds he was reading written by ornithologist James Bond. As Fleming's book series grew in popularity, the birdwatching Bond began to receive strange phone calls from fans looking for the fictional agent. This interview with writer Jim Wright explores that strange history, shedding light on more than a few Easter eggs in the Bond series.

Twain ruthlessly criticized other writers

The writer was known for lambasting popular writers of his time, including Jane Austen and Robert Louis Stevenson. One of his most famous takedowns is “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offences,” an essay that simultaneously mocks Cooper’s popular adventure tales and satirizes the pretentiousness of literary criticism. Remarking on Cooper’s novel “The Deerslayer,” Twain wrote, “its conversations are—oh! Indescribable; its love-scenes odious; its English a crime against the language.”

Watch the 1954 film adaptation of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm,' which was covertly funded by the CIA.

How famous writers chose their pen names

From Joseph Conrad to JK Rowling, writers employ pseudonyms for all kinds of reasons. How they find those pseudonyms, however, depends on the individual.

‘The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved’ signaled the birth of Gonzo Journalism

The 1970 essay opens with a crude conversation between Hunter S. Thompson, the author, and a man at an airport bar. Thompson’s first-person account places him as an active participant. Instead of focusing on the race itself, Thompson paints vivid details of his experience with the hedonistic scene surrounding it.

Dystopian satire became more prominent in the 20th century

Although "anti-utopian" stories have always existed, the international conflicts of World War I and World War II inspired some of dystopian literature’s most influential novels, like Yevgeny Zamyatin’s "We," Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World," and George Orwell’s "1984." In the decades to follow, more writers would follow the example of those early novels, using the dystopian model to critique artificial intelligence, climate change, and more.

Writer Gay Talese has unorthodox practices for researching his stories

Since Talese began working at the New York Times in the 1950s, he has woven eccentric details into his stories about the people he covers. His immersive journalistic methods, such as living in a nudist colony, sparked controversy, but also helped him uncover aspects of people's lives.

O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became symbols for her fiction

O'Connor was drawn to peacocks because of their dichotomy—people were drawn to the beauty of their feathers but turned off by the ugliness of their behavior. It was an apt symbol for her fiction and the birds featured prominently on several of her books' covers.

'Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.'

- Author Philip Roth (1933-2018)

Listen to the Pink Floyd album inspired by 'Animal Farm'

The 1977 album "Animals" was loosely inspired by Orwell's 1945 novella, though it was not a strict allegory for the Russian Revolution. Instead, Roger Waters' and David Gilmour's songs criticize what they see as the inhumanity of modern capitalism.

Diving into the life of Henry David Thoreau

Before he went to live in the woods by Walden Pond, Thoreau (who originally went by David Henry) lived a fascinating life, opening a school with his brother, working for his father's pencil-making business, and becoming close to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who'd become a mentor figure for the aspiring writer. This deep profile explores all that and more.

John Steinbeck's philosophical ideas, which he often explored in his novels, wrestled with the role of the individual and the power of community.

Twain read (and lampooned) classic literature

Ever the ironist, Twain claimed to have “ no liking for novels or stories.” Obviously, that was untrue: He read widely, devouring books by Charles Dickens, slave narratives, and texts on astronomy. He also loved John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which he called “something everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

Despite his sometimes caustic satire, Dickens was ultimately an optimist

Michael Slater, a professor of Victorian literature at Birkbeck College, notes that Dickens' anger at Parliament and social injustice never got in the way of his optimism. "There is a constant allegiance to the lives of ordinary people and their pleasures," he said in a 2001 interview with "In Our Time."

Read the poetry of Henry David Thoreau

Although primarily known for his nonfiction, the New England transcendentalist was also a prolific poet, writing verse that, like his essays, tackled nature, man, and society. The Academy of American Poets has collected 30 of his poems, which you can read for free.

Why Henry David Thoreau was not a hermit

When many people think of "Walden," they think of a man who intentionally exiled himself from society. But that's inaccurate. Thoreau regularly welcomed guests and explained that he kept three chairs in his modest cabin: "one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society."

A conversation with David Attenborough about his work, from his narrative style to technology

Although he began working in television before owning a television set, gaining experience as a producer in the editing room helped Attenborough develop an insight into creating engaging content with less dialogue. Among the technologies pioneered during his career were stabilized cameras for aerial shots, infrared and microphotography, and waterproof electronics for underwater cameras.

Why school boards ban dystopian books

Journalist Ali Velshi analyzes the lasting appeal of Lois Lowry's "The Giver" and George Orwell's "1984," two dystopian novels that have courted controversy since their publications. Beyond his interpretations, though, Velshi wants to understand why school boards perennially ban these books—and what makes them so fascinating for adolescent readers. In his search, he talks to Lowry about the lasting influence of her novel and to Orwell expert James McCallister about the prescient political portrait in "1984."

Watch writer John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

'It's those who lie outside ordinary experience who have the most to teach us.'

- Author Malcolm Gladwell (1963 - present)

Understanding Thoreau's critique of American work

John Kaag, a coauthor of "Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living," explains how the writer is often mischaracterized as a layabout who avoided responsibilities. Kaag, though, notes that Thoreau was a jack-of-all-trades—working as a schoolteacher and a handyman, and even for his father's pencil-manufacturing company—who came to believe that relentless striving was getting in the way of authentic living.

The story behind David Bowie's failed '1984' musical

The musician hoped to adapt Orwell's dystopian novel for the stage, though the project floundered after Orwell's widow—who found Bowie's vision in poor taste—refused to grant him the rights. Several of the project's songs—including "Big Brother" and "1984"—eventually appeared on Bowie's 1974 album "Diamond Dogs."

The first draft of the classic American novel 'Of Mice and Men' was torn to shreds by John Steinbeck's dog.