1948

<p>Described as the most widely read and influential serious writer of the twentieth century George Orwell remains relevant in our own era of contested media. He continues to attract a large readership.</p><p>This book is about Orwell's post-war cultural moment c. 1948. Taking his <em>Diaries </em>of the time<em> </em>as inspiration together with his famous final novel <em>1984 </em>(published 1949) and treating them as contiguous texts Brian May considers the gaps equivocations and contradictions in Orwell's message and asks what Orwell would have written next.</p><p>But <em>1948</em> is more than a work of literary criticism: rather it balances critical discussion with creative intervention being one-half literary-critical commentary and one-half fictional departure - a novella titled From the Archives of Oceania which quotes parodies and pastiches Orwell's <em>Diaries </em>offering a possible prequel. Together these elements offer a resource for the reader to interrogate anew such difficult issues as Orwell's sexism and anti-Semitism; to explore the tensions between various intertwining strands of thought that cast Orwell as both realist and idealist Puritan and individualist; and to better understand Orwell's curious affection for the natural world.</p><p><em>1948</em> will appeal to all readers and critics of Orwell but also to students of dystopian fiction revisionary fiction and reception study which highlights the audience's contribution to an artwork's meaning.</p>