Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Last updated: 5 October 2026
The Nineteen Eighty-Four book is George Orwell's last novel, published in June 1949, about Winston Smith, a man who rewrites old newspapers for a government that controls what the past says. It has been out of copyright in the UK since 2021, so cheap editions are everywhere. On 5 October 2026 the Collins Classics paperback cost £3.79 on Bookshop.org and £3.99 on Amazon UK.
Buy Nineteen Eighty-Four on Bookshop.org, £3.79
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What happens in Nineteen Eighty-Four
Winston Smith works in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. Each day he edits old newspaper articles so that they agree with whatever the Party says now, and he deletes people who have been made to disappear. Then he buys a notebook and starts a diary. No law forbids it, because there are no laws in Oceania, but the Thought Police can arrest him for it.
Oceania is one of three superstates at permanent war with the other two. Winston begins an affair with Julia, a colleague, which is itself a political act, because the Party wants desire turned into loyalty. A senior official called O'Brien then seems to offer a way into the resistance. We will stop there, because the last third is the part readers remember.
The novel runs to about 380 pages and reads quickly. The exception is a long extract from a banned book by Emmanuel Goldstein in the middle, which slows things down, and plenty of readers skim it.
Why the Nineteen Eighty-Four book is still read
The novel gave English its words for state control of information. Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak and the memory hole all come from it, and people still use them in news stories and arguments about politics. When someone calls a policy Orwellian, this is the book they mean.
Orwell's main subject is the Ministry of Truth rather than the telescreens. He wants to know what happens to people when the official record of the past can be changed. He is also interested in how quickly a person will agree that two plus two makes five when the alternative is bad enough.
Orwell dictated a statement about the novel from a sanatorium in June 1949, months before he died: "The moral to be drawn from this dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one... Don't let it happen. It depends on you." The Orwell Foundation has more on the book and how he wrote it.
Who it suits
Anyone who has never read it should start here. After that, it suits two kinds of reader: people who like political fiction with an argument inside it, and people interested in how governments and companies use language. If you liked Kafka's The Trial or Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, put it next to them.
It also works as a re-read. Most people meet it at school, where the ending reads as horror. On a second read, look at the appendix on the principles of Newspeak. It is written in the past tense, which many readers take as a sign that the Party did not last.
Which UK edition to buy
Orwell died in January 1950. UK copyright lasts 70 years from the end of the year the author died, so the novel entered the public domain on 1 January 2021. Prices now run from under £4 for a paperback to collector's hardbacks, and three editions suit most readers. Prices below were checked on 5 October 2026.
Collins Classics paperback. 384 pages, published 7 January 2021, with the grey CCTV-camera cover. At £3.79 on Bookshop.org or £3.99 on Amazon UK, it is the one to buy if you only want to read the novel.
Buy it: Bookshop.org or Amazon UK
Penguin Modern Classics paperback. 384 pages, with an introduction by Thomas Pynchon that covers Orwell's politics and the Newspeak appendix. It was £9.49 on Bookshop.org and £7.49 on Amazon UK.
Buy it: Bookshop.org or Amazon UK
Penguin Clothbound Classics hardback. A yellow patterned cloth cover by Coralie Bickford-Smith, published on 7 January 2021, the week the copyright lapsed. It was £16.14 on Bookshop.org and £13.59 on Amazon UK, and it is the edition to give as a present.
Buy it: Bookshop.org or Amazon UK
Granta published a 75th anniversary edition on 20 June 2024, with facsimile pages from Orwell's manuscript and an introduction by Sandra Newman. It costs several times the price of a paperback, so it suits a collector more than someone reading on the train.
If you would rather listen, Audible released a full-cast adaptation in 2024 called George Orwell's 1984, with Andrew Garfield as Winston alongside Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott and Tom Hardy. It adapts the novel rather than reading it word for word, so it works alongside the book rather than in place of it.
Key facts
| Title | Nineteen Eighty-Four (printed as 1984 on many covers) |
|---|---|
| Author | George Orwell, the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair |
| First published | 8 June 1949, by Secker and Warburg, London |
| Working title | The Last Man in Europe |
| Where Orwell wrote it | Barnhill, on the Isle of Jura, while he was seriously ill with tuberculosis |
| UK copyright | Public domain since 1 January 2021 |
| Length | 384 pages in most UK paperbacks, including the Newspeak appendix |
| Cheapest new UK edition | Collins Classics paperback, ISBN 9780008322069, £3.79 on Bookshop.org on 5 October 2026 |
More on the book from CoolCuration
Our opinion of the novel, including the parts we found hard going, is in the Nineteen Eighty-Four review. The book also sits in our greatest books of all time ranking, which combines more than 600 published lists.
Nineteen Eighty-Four on Bookshop.org
FAQs
How much does the Nineteen Eighty-Four book cost in the UK?
On 5 October 2026 the Collins Classics paperback was £3.79 on Bookshop.org and £3.99 on Amazon UK. The Penguin Modern Classics paperback was £9.49 on Bookshop.org and £7.49 on Amazon UK, and the Penguin Clothbound hardback was £16.14 and £13.59.
Which edition of Nineteen Eighty-Four should I buy?
The Collins Classics paperback if you just want to read it, Penguin Modern Classics if you want Thomas Pynchon's introduction, and the Penguin Clothbound Classic if it is a gift.
Is Nineteen Eighty-Four the same book as 1984?
Yes. Orwell's title spells the number out, and many covers print it as 1984. Searching for either finds the same novel.
Is Nineteen Eighty-Four hard to read?
No. Orwell wrote in deliberately clear prose. The extract from Goldstein's book about halfway through is dense, but you can skim it without losing the story.
Why is Nineteen Eighty-Four so cheap now?
It has been out of copyright in the UK since 1 January 2021, so any publisher can print it without paying the estate, and prices have dropped.
Are there books that follow on from it?
Two. Sandra Newman's Julia, published by Granta in 2023, retells the story from Julia's side with the Orwell estate's approval. Dorian Lynskey's The Ministry of Truth is a history of the novel, covering where Orwell's ideas came from and how the book has been used since.
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Prices were checked on Bookshop.org and Amazon UK on 5 October 2026 and can change. The affiliate links on this page earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and publishers do not choose what we feature.
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