Orwell on Truth
  • Published: 23 November 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473559073
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224

Orwell on Truth

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EBook
23 Nov 2017
Hardback
27 Nov 2017
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'To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle.' A selection of George Orwell's prescient, clear-eyed and stimulating writing on the subjects of truth and lies. With an introduction by Alan Johnson.

A selection of George Orwell's prescient, clear-eyed and stimulating writing on the subjects of truth and lies. With an introduction by Alan Johnson.

'Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two equals four. If that is granted, all else follows.'
This selection of George Orwell’s writing, from both his novels and non-fiction, gathers together his thoughts on the subject of truth. It ranges from discussion of personal honesty and morality, to freedom of speech and political propaganda. Orwell’s unique clarity of thought and illuminating scepticism provide the perfect defence against our post-truth world of fake news and confusion.

'The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.'

Includes an introduction by Alan Johnson and passages from Burmese Days, The Road to Wigan Pier, Coming Up for Air, The Lion and the Unicorn, Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell’s letters, war-time diary, criticism and essays including ‘Fascism and Democracy’, ‘Culture and Democracy’, ‘Looking Back on the Spanish War’, ‘As I Please’, ‘Notes on Nationalism’, ‘The Prevention of Literature’, ‘Politics and the English Language’ and ‘Why I Write’.
  • Published: 23 November 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473559073
  • Imprint: Vintage Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 224
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About the author

George Orwell

George Orwell (1903–1950) is one of England's most famous writers and social commentators. He is the author of the classic political satire Animal Farm and the dystopian masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four. He is also well known for his essays and journalism, particularly his works covering his travels and his time fighting in the Spanish Civil War. His writing is celebrated for its piercing clarity, purpose and wit and his books continue to be bestsellers all over the world.

portrait photo of George Orwell

Also by George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-four
1984
Animal Farm
Why I Write
Notes on Nationalism
Homage to Catalonia
A Clergyman's Daughter
See all

Praise for Orwell on Truth

Orwell remains the gold standard by which everyone else’s efforts should be judged

Telegraph

The greatest writer of the twentieth century

Observer

A writer who is still vividly contemporary … Orwell told the truth

Christopher Hitchens

He made it his business to tell the truth at a time when many contemporaries believed that history had ordained the lie … His work endures, as lucid and vigorous as the day it was written

Time

He was more than just a great writer. We need him today because of his passion for the truth’

Sunday Times

[Orwell fought] the evils of the world and the weakness of his body to the day of his death, always striving, striving to tell the truth about what he saw and what he felt

Nicholas Walter, Anarchy: A Journal of Anarchist Ideas

Orwell saw … that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power

Adam Gopnik, New Yorker