George Orwell`s celebrated and always timely 1948 vision of a world subsumed in tyranny and war describes the process of events by which Winston Smith, a London clerk at the Ministry of Truth, comes to understand the true nature and aims of the government he works for, and portrays his doomed attempt to create a private life for himself and his lover, Julia. One of the bleakest political novels ever written, 1984 illustrates Orwell`s despair that democracy could ever summon the strength to overcome totalitarianism in his lifetime. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.