George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Mary ShelleyFrankensteinVictor Frankenstein, a brilliant young scientist, succeeds in creating life from dead matter, but immediately rejects his creature, horrified by its appearance. Left to itself, the being develops consciousness and emotions, but faces rejection and solitude. Its search for…Same countrySame genre
Yevgeny ZamyatinWeIn the One State, ringed by a wall of glass, people carry numbers and live by a fixed timetable in transparent flats. D-503, engineer of the spaceship Integral, keeps a journal meant for the peoples he will help conquer, until he meets I-330, who pulls him outside the rules.…Same genreSame era
George OrwellAnimal FarmThe animals of Manor Farm drive out their master and set about running the farm themselves, under the banner of equality. The pigs, quickest to learn, take charge of organising the work and writing the rules. Little by little, the rules change, the memories fade, and the new…By the same authorSame genreSame era
Joseph ConradThe Secret AgentAdolf Verloc, a double agent living in London, leads an outwardly ordinary life while engaging in clandestine activities. Assigned a dubious mission, he becomes caught in a chain of events that quickly escapes his control. Around him, his wife Winnie and others suffer the…Same countrySame genre
Thomas HardyTwo on a TowerIn the English countryside of the nineteenth century, Lady Constantine lives alone on her estate while her husband hunts lions in Africa. She has promised him to see almost no one, and she is bored. At the top of an old tower she finds Swithin St Cleeve, a young man of twenty…Same countrySame genre
Jonathan SwiftGulliver's TravelsGulliver, a doctor and traveler, journeys through extraordinary lands inhabited by beings of radically different sizes and customs. With each voyage, he discovers societies that mirror and criticize the vices of the real world. Among giants, miniature peoples, and strange…Same genre
G. K. ChestertonThe Man Who Was ThursdayGabriel Syme, a poet turned secret agent, infiltrates an anarchist group led by mysterious figures named after the days of the week. As his mission progresses, he discovers that reality is more complex than it seems and that each member hides his true identity. Between chases…Same countrySame genre
G. K. ChestertonThe Wisdom of Father BrownTwelve detective stories by the English writer G. K. Chesterton, published in 1914. Father Brown, a small, absent-minded-looking Catholic priest, solves cases that baffle the police and the scientists, often with his friend Flambeau, a former criminal turned detective. A…Same countrySame genre
George OrwellHomage to CataloniaIn December 1936, Orwell arrives in Barcelona intending to write newspaper articles, but almost at once he joins a P.O.U.M. militia and leaves for the Aragon front. He describes the cold, the lice, the boredom of the trenches and the strange equality of a revolutionary army.…By the same authorSame era
H. G. WellsThe Island of Doctor MoreauWashed up after a shipwreck, Edward Prendick is put ashore on a remote Pacific island inhabited by an exiled scientist and his assistant. The islanders, unsettling in their features, recite a Law like a prayer, and cries come at night from the laboratory. Prendick discovers the…Same countrySame genre
John Oliver HobbesRobert OrangeAn English novel, sequel to The School for Saints. London, 1869: Robert Orange, a young Catholic Member of Parliament of French descent and a protégé of Disraeli, marries Brigit, a young widow he loves with an almost mystical devotion. On the very day of the wedding, word comes…Same countrySame genre
Mark TwainA Connecticut YankeeHank Morgan, an American engineer, is transported to the medieval England of King Arthur. Armed with his modern knowledge, he tries to transform this archaic society by introducing progress and rational thinking. But he collides with entrenched traditions, beliefs, and power…Same genre