Summer's signing off
See All Buying Options
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Anthony Burgess
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Nineteen Eighty-Five Hardcover – 1 Oct. 1978

by Anthony Burgess (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 147 ratings
This two-part response to 1984 minutely analyzes the original novel, and, after Burgess decides that 1984 will not resemble Orwell's fantasy, creates a comic counter-novel of future Britain
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Little Brown & Co
  3. Publication date
    1 Oct. 1978
  4. ISBN-10
    0316116513
  5. ISBN-13
    978-0316116510
Next slide of product details
Save 15% on Baby Einstein

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little Brown & Co
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 Oct. 1978
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316116513
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316116510
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 454 g
  • Best Sellers Rank: 3,972,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 147 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Anthony Burgess

Anthony Burgess

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Anthony Burgess (1917-1993) was a novelist, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. He is best known for his novel A Clockwork Orange (1962), but altogether he wrote thirty-three novels, twenty-five works of non-fiction, two volumes of autobiography, three symphonies, more than 250 other musical works, and thousands of essays, articles and reviews.

Burgess was born in Manchester, England and grew up in Harpurhey and Moss Side. He was educated at Xaverian College and Manchester University. He lived in Malaya, Malta, Monaco, Italy and the United States, among other places. His books are still widely read all over the world.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
147 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book to be an amazing and interesting read, particularly appreciating its serious academic approach. The authorship receives positive feedback, with one customer noting how it starts with writings about George Orwell, while another describes it as a convincing re-interpretation of Orwell's 1984.

Select to learn more

ReadabilityInterestAuthorship
10 customers mention ‘Readability’10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an amazing and engaging read.

"A good book, quite prophetic in places, especially taking the current political/racial/religious/social context into account...." Read more

"Superb book...." Read more

"...However the novel is fantastic, I don't want to write any spoilers, but it is a great book!" Read more

"...written by Anthony Burgess, a deeply humane and spiritual man, is worth reading." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Interest’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and serious academic in nature, describing it as unusual.

"A worthwhile combination of a serious academic , unusual , and convincing re-interpretation of Orwell's 1984 , as well as the common root of Brave..." Read more

"...I found this interesting and thought provoking even if I didn't agree with everything...." Read more

"Interesting and engaging." Read more

"...The essays on 1984 and Orwell are extremely interesting - however the main problem with the story - 1985 - is that it is set too close to the time..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Authorship’3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the authorship of the book, with one review noting its convincing re-interpretation of Orwell's 1984, while another highlights the author's skill as an essayist.

"...It starts off with writings about George Orwell, his life, his musings and his place in society, and how all of this may have influenced 1984...." Read more

"...combination of a serious academic , unusual , and convincing re-interpretation of Orwell's 1984 , as well as the common root of Brave New World ,..." Read more

"...Burgess excels as an essayist and the first part of the book consists of essays on the Orwell title further to his own fictional story in the second..." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • FMLak3
    5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising and interesting
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 June 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I have always loved 1984 and have enjoyed reading Anthony Burgess recently, so this book intrigued me.

    It starts off with writings about George Orwell, his life, his musings and his place in society, and how all of this may have influenced 1984. This is really interesting for anyone who has read 1984 (seriously, read it first if you haven't).
    After that there is a novel, called 1985. I expected it to be 'what would happen if Anthony Burgess wrote 1984', but actually I found it read more like 'what would happen if George Orwell wrote A Clockwork Orange'. However the novel is fantastic, I don't want to write any spoilers, but it is a great book!
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • daveyp.
    4.0 out of 5 stars A blast from the past
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2011
    Verified Purchase
    This novel, first published in 1978, was Anthony Burgess' vision of how Britain might turn out if trade union power remained unchecked. It is the story of a stubborn, bloody-minded individual, Bev Jones, and his refusal to accept the moral authority of the Syndicalist, trade-union dominated regime that has come to power in the United Kingdom.

    In retropect Burgess was proved wrong about the trade unions. Margaret Thatcher broke their grip on British public life. But he does get it right in his depiction of a post-Christian Britain, where Islam is steadily becoming more influential. 'Supernature abhors a super-vacuum. With the death of institutional Christianity will come the spread of Islam.'

    The story, like Orwell's original vision of the future,is a bleak one, though with numerous ingenious touches...Burgess foresaw the anti-smoking campaign with gruesome images on cigarette packets. In a sense it is a period piece. This present generation has its own nightmares about the future. But anything written by Anthony Burgess, a deeply humane and spiritual man, is worth reading.
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Ewa Pieczonka
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and crispy book delivered fast :)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 June 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Came way before the predicted date of delivery - securely packed.
    Didn't read it yet but the quality of the product is well.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Music Lover
    3.0 out of 5 stars The old Orwellian vision made new
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 June 2008
    Verified Purchase
    Since his death in 1993, there has been a decline of interest in the wider work of Anthony Burgess, with only a small and predictable number of his works being currently available to the intellectually curious.

    This neccesarily means that '1985' (1978) is currently out of print, ignored by the wider public and generally attracting comment only for the apparent portrayal of Britain under an Islamic system of governance. Whilst it is true to say that Islam does figure within the novel, it does so in an entirely secondary way, providing little more than a convenient ideological counterweight to the true target of this short tale, the vision of a hyper-socialised Britain in which the world and themes drawn by George Orwell in '1984' are ruthlessly explored and questioned.

    The book should, in many respects, be considered as providing a dual structured commentary on Orwell's earlier work, consisting of a series of short essay type pieces which, in a style similar to that of Borges, are framed within a simple Q and A narrative in which Burgess exaggerates and amplifies ideas and motifs from within the original text. Once this has been completed Burgess presents a short story, following the experiences of Bev Jones (the 'Winston Smith') as he struggles to live according to the stated wish of his dead wife ('Don't let them get away with it'), in a world which can be seen to reflect many of the contemporary concerns at the time of its original publication (the power of the trade unions, oil dependency, Islam, comparative moral relativism) with a broader framework concerned with examining the role of the individual as opposed to the state. Whilst this might not seem particularly original, the work moves swiftly and surely, propelled by the inventive linguistic turns in which Burgess excelled, and an undeniable humour which ensures that the sense of the comic and absurd is always present.

    It is clear, obviously, that the particular vision offered by Burgess did not become manifest but that does not detract from some of the key questions posed by the book, which are as relevant now as when originally written. This is a highly political novel, related to similarly written dystopian visions (notably Zamyatin's 'We' and Huxley's 'Brave New World'), but offering a celebration of the individualism and romantic heroic freedom of creative humanism and the unique comedy of human existance and struggle.
    9 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Aleksander Kuczynski
    5.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile combination of a serious academic, unusual, ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A worthwhile combination of a serious academic , unusual , and convincing re-interpretation of Orwell's 1984 , as well as the common root of Brave New World , and a novel composed on the same comparative basis . I would feel it is essential for anyone required to study Orwell and the early post-war years in Britain .
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Vic
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 July 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting and engaging.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Andrew
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good book, quite prophetic in places
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    A good book, quite prophetic in places, especially taking the current political/racial/religious/social context into account. The essays on 1984 and Orwell are extremely interesting - however the main problem with the story - 1985 - is that it is set too close to the time it was wrote. If I'm right, 1984 was wrote 35 years before it was set. 1985 was wrote about 7 years before it was set. Would have been a much better book had it been set further in the future.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • David J James
    5.0 out of 5 stars Uncannily accurate prediction, not of 1985 so much as where we are now.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2019
    Verified Purchase
    He got more detail right than Orwell to whom this book is in many ways a tribute. Burgess excels as an essayist and the first part of the book consists of essays on the Orwell title further to his own fictional story in the second half.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Alex Ogle
    5.0 out of 5 stars A book of two halves
    Reviewed in Canada on 24 December 2018
    Verified Purchase
    In part one, Burgess comments on Brave New World and 1984, and why he understands the novels but disagrees with their basic assumptions. He has imagined conversations with you, the reader, to better express his train of thought. There is much there that reveals the intelligence of the man.
    Part two is the "novel". Burgess has a different style to Huxley and Orwell in that he is more interested in how a "cacotopian" future affects people rather than seeking to explain how such a future operates. He is particularly good at showing that there is always some resistance and how a controlling state leads to unimaginative education and restless youth.
    The story is very relevant in modern times where sensitivities are liable to cause restrictions on behaviour.
    Report
  • Maurício Fontana Filho
    5.0 out of 5 stars serviu o seu propósito por um tempo
    Reviewed in Brazil on 10 January 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Eu usava esse livro como encosto pro monitor do computador e agora não uso mais, então acho que nota cinco ajudou valeu
    Report
  • Sean Charles Cook
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful
    Reviewed in Italy on 14 September 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting, clearly written. His insights into the tyranny of politically correct thought were prescient. If you liked a ACO you will enjoy this, as well.
    Report
  • Christian D. Orr
    5.0 out of 5 stars Essentially two books in one,both of which are worthy companion pieces to Orwell's "1984"
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 June 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Essentially, two books in one: (1) A thought-provoking and intellectually-stimulating critique & analysis of George Orwell's "1984"and (2) a mini-novel that's not so much a sequel as a re-write of "1984" (again using the benefot of 30 years of hindsight that Orwell did not have).

    In the fiction segment, while there is no Big Brother or Thought Police per se, nor are there superstates like Oceania, Euarasia, and Eastasia, i.e. the UK, USA, Australia, etc. still exist as independent countries, the unions have totally seized power (the cynical joke goes "TUK = TUC," in other words, The United Kingdom is the Trades Union Congress, and Englad is often informally referred to as Tucland), the State is the employer for something like 99% of the workforce, and the unions basically hold governments and individuals alike by the bollocks. The unions (or Syndicates, as they're also called in the novella) don't have quite the total physical and mental control of the people that Big Brother's Ingsoc does, but it's plenty nightmarish. Instead of Orwell's "Newspeak," there is "Worker's English (WE)," which is also a highly dumbed-down version of the language. The only groups with any sense of intellectual and economic freedom are gangs of thugs and petty thieves....or, dare I say, landlocked pirates?

    The novella portion starts off with the protagonist's wife dying in a hospital fire due to the firefighters being on strike and refusing to attempt to put out the fire.* An ominous start to an even more ominous story. (*Later on in the novel, there is a reference to an incident where thousands freeze to death in the American Midwestern winter, specifically Minnesota, because the public utility workers are on strike and thus refusing to turn on the heat.)

    WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
    While "1985" doesn't exactly have a "happy" ending, at least the protagonist, Bev Jones, doesn't go down without a fight, and while he is tortured at a re-education camp,the tortures aren't quite as horrific as The Ministry of Love or Room 101 from Orwell's "1984," and at least Jones doesn't go out like a totally brainwashed meek little wussy the way Winston Smith does in Orwell's book, i.e. Jones dies, but he doesn't die loving the State or the unions.
    Report
  • Frank Schmitt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr gut
    Reviewed in Germany on 23 July 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Guter Preis und Produkt in gutem Zustand!
    Report