When the UK copyright for George Orwell's work expired in 2021, two writers took on his towering masterpieces – 1984 and Animal Farm – and reimagined them through contemporary eyes. Dorian Lynkey finds out why.
Almost four years ago, the novelist Adam Biles was talking to a friend about the fact that the work of George Orwell was due toon New Year's Day 2021. Under UK law, copyright expires 70 years after the end of the calendar year of the author's death; Orwell died in 1950. The two men joked about possible sequels: the aftermath ofcould be explored in Nineteen Eighty-Five, or Keep the Aspidistra Flying could spawn Keep the Aspidistra Still Flying.
The lapsing of copyright has triggered an avalanche of new editions from various publishers but not a total free-for-all. Letters and unpublished essays uncovered after Orwell's death by the late scholar Peter Davison remain restricted. Hamilton has trademarked phrases such as"Big Brother is watching you" to ensure that Orwell merchandise continues to maintain certain standards, and to make money for the Orwell Foundation.
With Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell constructed an unforgettable fictional world, but one riddled with mysteries. Some unanswered questions - does Big Brother really exist? Was Julia working for the Thought Police all along? - feel like strategic ambiguities. Others, such as the operation of the telescreen or details of life in the"prole district", seem more like omissions. Perhaps Orwell decided that they were irrelevant to his mission of explaining the psychology of totalitarianism.
Newman retells the events of Nineteen Eighty-Four from Julia's point of view in the first two-thirds of her novel, before imagining what she might have done next after her brutal interrogation in the Ministry of Love. Through Julia's eyes, the author illuminates previously unseen corners of Airstrip One."I tried to make it all consistent with the actual words on the page so that you could read both books side by side and everything would interlock," she says.
Orwell was writing with a specific political purpose: to alert readers to the reality of Stalinism. Animal Farm is therefore a remarkably disciplined allegory of the history of the USSR, with key figures and events precisely mirrored by the animals of Manor Farm.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
George Russell delivers damning Mercedes indictment after Brazil GP embarrassmentGeorge Russell is stumped as to why Mercedes were so poor in Brazil, 12 months on from their sole win in the ground-effect era...
続きを読む »
Boy George to return to Broadway for Moulin Rouge The MusicalThe 1980s icon will play theatre owner Harold Zidler.
続きを読む »
George Osborne Reveals The Queen Intervened To Save A Bagpipe School From His Spending CutsGraeme Demianyk is a news editor at HuffPost UK, and is based in New York. As well as being night new editor, he has written extensively on the Grenfell tower disaster and the UK's housing crisis.
続きを読む »
Dr Alex George just confirmed what we already knew about Prince William and Princess KateThe TV star was handpicked by the royals to host a panel on World Mental Health Day
続きを読む »
Glasgow's George Square redesign may affect Remembrance SundayPlans for a George Square redesign could have implications for one of the city’s most important events, according to an MSP.
続きを読む »
Why Prince George has an important week ahead of himThe Prince and Princess of Wales's son attends Lambrook school in Berkshire
続きを読む »