nineteen eighty-four. This item is unavailable.nineteen eighty-four

Hardcover. First UK Edition, Very Good+ in a Very Good dust jacket. Book's green cloth is bright and unfaded, with a bookplate to the front pastedown and faint tape shadows (not ex- library) to the front and rear flyleaf; Jacket is the green variant (the red variant is supposedly rarer), and has a few small corner chips and tiny closed tears, and a single 1-inch chip to the crown, affecting a portion of the title. Martin Secker & Warburg, London, 1949. Hard Cover. Rare first edition, first printing in original wrapper. Stated at copyright: "First published 1949". Green full cloth boards, red impressed spine titles. Bind good, square; hinges intact. Original dark green dust wrapper, some edge wear, rub, chip; clipped, protected in fine clear acid-free sleeve. Rare near good first edition in same original wrapper. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 - 21 January 1950) pseudonymously George Orwell, composed this narrative message in 1948 and juxtaposed the numbers to 1984 as its time and place. The world is divided into three great powers, Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, each perpetually at war. Britain is part of Oceania and is known as Airstrip 1. Throughout Oceania, The Party rules through four ministries, whose power is absolute. The Ministry of Peace deals with war, the Ministry of Love, seat of the dreaded Thought Police, handles 'law and order,' the Ministry of Plenty deals in scarcities, and the Ministry of Truth doles out the propaganda. 'New-speak' is the 'modern' perversion of language ordained by the Party. It has installed such remarkable words as double-think (duplicitousness), thought-crime, and sex-crime or 'love' in standard English. In every room, a tele-screen is installed, which can never be switched off, and where 'authorities' spy on every action, word, gesture, and thought. On every hoarding a huge face is displayed - the face of Big Brother! Set within this nightmare is the drama of Winston Smith, possibly the last man alive to rebel against the Party's rule and doctrine, clinging to the belief in the individual and in those precious human feelings and values. With flawless craftsmanship, ingenuity and narrative power Mr. Orwell lays out a terrifying potential future. The love of Winston for the amorous and independent Julia, and the fate that befalls them, stirs the reader's emotions as the cautionary tale paces to a tremendous climax. When Mr. Orwell’s 'Animal Farm' was published three years prior, critics hailed him as a new Jonathan Swift. The satirical passages in '1984' justify the critics' verdict. But, presented here is much more than satire. Bertrand Russell writes in summary at front flap: "1984 depicts with great power the horrors of a totalitarian regime. It is important the western world is aware of these dangers, and not only in the narrow form of (Communist) Russia. Mr. Orwell contributes to this important purpose with skill and a force of imagination. I hope it will be widely read." Will be dispatched within 48 hours of ordering.…