"Since its publication in 1949, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four has been regarded as one of the most influential novels of the modern age. It has shaped the worldview of everyone from politicians and journalists to musicians and TV viewers, and in our era of inescapable surveillance, invasions of privacy, and rampant dishonesty, it is as timely as ever. On Nineteen Eighty-Four, from acclaimed biographer and critic D.J. Taylor, is a deep dive into the origins, creation, and life of Orwell's masterpiece. It stretches from his education, through the Spanish Civil War, and to the Scottish Island of Jura, where the author, newly famous but coping with rapidly declining health, struggled to finish the book that would secure his legacy. This is a brilliant blend of history, biography, and analysis." --]cFrom publisher's description.