Having got rid of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite among them takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the old ways. Orwell's chilling story of the betrayal of idealism through tyranny and corruption, is as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published in 1945.

Accolades

Runner-up for The BBC Big Read Top 100 2003.
Shortlisted for BBC Big Read Top 100 2003.

Author Biography

George Orwell, real name Eric Blair, was born in 1903 in Bengal. He served with the Indian Imperial Police, and later came to Europe, doing a series of ill-paid jobs which led to his writing Down and Out in Paris and London. He fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Republicans, but in later years became disillusioned with the aims of Communism, which led to the writing of his two most famous political satires Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four, which were immensely popular. He died in 1950.