Showing results by author "George Orwell" in All Categories

Orwell chronicled his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War in Homage to Catalonia. Here he brings to bear all the force of his humanity, passion and clarity, describing with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic episode: the revolutionary euphoria of Barcelona, the courage of ordinary Spanish men and women he fought alongside, the terror and confusion of the front, his near-fatal bullet wound and the vicious treachery of his supposed allies.

Orwell's own experiences inspire this semi-autobiographical novel about a man living in Paris in the early 1930s without a penny. The narrator's poverty brings him into contact with strange incidents and characters, which he manages to chronicle with great sensitivity and graphic power. The latter half of the book takes the English narrator to his home city, London, where the world of poverty is different in externals only.

Full-cast dramatisations of six masterpieces from the founding fathers of dystopian fiction. Dark and disturbing, provocative and prescient, dystopian literature has long captured our imagination with its nightmarish visions of forbidding future worlds. Included here are six classic novels of time-travel, totalitarianism and terror, written by some of the masters of speculative fiction and adapted for radio with all-star casts.

The British Classics Collection: Volume One is a century-spanning collection of 24 classic works of fiction and poetry by British authors, read by a cast of incredible narrators including Stephen Fry, Joanne Froggatt, Jason Isaacs, Adjoa Andoh, and many more. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including Charles Dickens; Emily Brontë; Jane Austen; Thomas Hardy; George Eliot; D.H. Lawrence; George Orwell; and Mary Shelley, amongst a host of others.

George Orwell's classic account of his experiences during the Spanish Civil War, dramatised for radio by Mike Walker. Produced by Kate McAll.

Animal Farm is an allegorical satire of the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917, and then on into the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell described the book as a satirical tale against Stalin and went on to say that it was the first book in which he tried “to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole”. All of the leading figures involved in this period are parodied as various animals.

Animal Farm tells the story of Farmer Jones’s animals, led by Napoleon the pig, who rise up in rebellion and take over the farm. Tired of being exploited solely for human gain, the animals—who have human characteristics such as speech—vow to create a new and more just society. However, as time goes on, it becomes clear that the society the animals have constructed is not equal at all when the pigs begin their crusade to consolidate their power and the other animals make the daunting realization that “some animals are more equal than others.”

Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music.

Sci-Fi: The Definitive Collection is a collection of 29 classic science fiction novels and stories, read by esteemed cast of award-winning narrators. Included here are stories by some of the most iconic science fiction writers of all time, including H.G. Wells; Jules Verne; H.P. Lovecraft; Maragret Cavendish; Yevgeny Zamyatin; and more.

John Flory is a white timber-merchant in 1920s Burma. Disillusioned by imperial life, Flory defies orthodoxy and befriends Indian Dr Veraswami. The doctor is being pursued by a corrupt magistrate, U Po Kyin, who is orchestrating his downfall. The only thing that can save his reputation is membership of the all-white Club, and Flory is in a position to help. Flory's life is also upended by the arrival of beautiful Parisian Elizabeth Lackersteen, who offers an escape from loneliness and the deceit of colonial life.

Orwells Roman über die Zerstörung des Menschen durch eine perfekte Staatsmaschinerie ist längst zu einer scheinbar nicht mehr erklärungsbedürftigen Metapher für totalitäre Verhältnisse geworden. Mit atemberaubender Unerbittlichkeit zeichnet der Autor das erschreckende Bild eines Staates, der seine Bürger ständig überwacht und nicht nur ihr Denken, sondern auch die Vergangenheit manipuliert.

A graphic and biting polemic that still holds a fierce political relevance and impact despite being written over half a century ago. First published in 1937 it charts George Orwell's observations of working-class life during the 1930s in the industrial heartlands of Yorkshire and Lancashire. His depictions of social injustice and rising unemployment, the dangerous working conditions in the mines amid general squalor and hunger also bring together many of the ideas explored in his later works and novels.

"1984", le livre légendaire écrit par George Orwell, enfin disponible dans une nouvelle traduction française. Un regard terrifiant sur l'avenir et une menace très claire sur ce que pourrait être notre futur, avec un État omniprésent et ultra-répressif. 1984 est le livre incontournable de l'anticipation distopique. L'histoire : Dans le futur, le monde a été divisé en trois empires qui se combattent en permanence : L'Océanie, l'Asie de l'Est et l'Eurasie. "1984" se passe à Londres, dans l'Océanie, une dictature.

Gordon Comstock is a poor young man who works by day in a grubby London bookstore and spends his evenings shivering in a rented room, trying to write. Gordon has published a slim volume of verse and is determined to keep free of the “money world” of safe, lucrative jobs, marriage, and family responsibilities. This world, to Gordon, spells the end of art and aspidistra, the homely, indestructible house plant that stands in every middle-class British window.

First published in 1931 by The Adelphi, this essay describes the execution of a criminal during Orwell's time in Burma. Britain ruled over Burma for 62 years (1824-86), during which three Anglo-Burmese Wars were fought and Britain incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma declared independence in 1948.

Dorothy Hare, the dutiful daughter of a rector in Suffolk, spends her days performing good works and cultivating good thoughts, pricking her arm with a pin when a bad thought arises. She does her best to reconcile her father’s fanciful view of his position in the world with such realities as the butcher’s bill. But even Dorothy’s strength has its limits, and one night, as she works feverishly on costumes for the church-school play, she blacks out. When she comes to, she finds herself on a London street, clad in a sleazy dress and unaware of her identity.

Imagínate una granja donde los animales, cansados de la opresión humana, se rebelan buscando igualdad y libertad... "Rebelión en la Granja" es una alegoría política que satiriza la Revolución Rusa de 1917 y los acontecimientos posteriores en la Unión Soviética.

The Ultimate Modern Classics Collection: Volume One is the first instalment in our classics collection focusing on the most important and iconic novels, stories, and poems of the 20th century. Featuring 18 essential modern classics from Orwell, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and many more, and read by a cast of incredible narrators including Iwan Rheon, Ben Allen, Karen Cass, Nathan Osgood, amongst others, this is an essential addition to your library.

1984 is a novel by the British author George Orwell in 1949. 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.

An autobiographical study, Down and Out in Paris and London follows Orwell as he tramps around both Paris and London. Pawning his belongings to buy food, unemployment, drinking heavily and jostling for a place in homeless hostels are but a few of the experiences related with candour and insight in this unabridged exclusive audiobook. Orwell was arguably one of the first 'gonzo' journalists.