A Distant Mirror

Big Brother. Thought Police. Doublespeak.

War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength.

An indelible part of the 21st century social fabric and geopolitical reality, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has gifted our culture these (now fundamental) concepts and much more. Completed in 1948 and first published mid-1949, the public recognized the book’s biting satire of malignant bureaucracy and totalitarian overreach immediately. Part cautionary warning and part pitch-black absurdist autobiography, Orwell’s gritty alarm now rings more relevant than perhaps ever before.

Presented with the full, uncensored and unabridged 1949 text, a foreword by 1984 (the film) co-producer Al Clark, a comprehensive and illustrated introduction that situates the book in Orwell’s personal circumstances and the broader political and social framework with other key texts and notable additions.