1984 Free online reading

1984 is a novel by the British author George Orwell in 1949. Considered a classic of dystopian fiction, the book has contributed many terms to common usage, including Big Brother, doublethink, newspeak, and thoughtcrime, while the adjective Orwellian in the context of government deception, surveillance, and misleading terminology has entered the English language.

The narrative unfolds in an imagined future when most of the world has fallen prey to omnipresent government surveillance, propaganda, and endless war. Great Britain has become a province of the super state Oceania, which is ruled by the Party, whose leader is called Big Brother. The Party employs the Thought Police to persecute individuality and independent thinking. Winston Smith, the protagonist, is an ordinary worker who secretly despises the Party and dreams of rebellion.

Time Magazine included the novel on its 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005, and it is placed at number 13 on the editor’s list and at number six on the reader’s list of Modern Library's 100 Best Novels.