Nineteen Eighty-Four — George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four depicts a world of three superstates where the ruling Party of Oceania controls not only actions but also the thoughts of citizens. The protagonist, Winston Smith, works at the Ministry of Truth falsifying historical records, but secretly dreams of freedom.

The novel introduced "Big Brother," "doublethink," "Newspeak," and "Room 101" into the global vocabulary. Published a year before the author's death, it became one of the most read and cited works of anti-totalitarian literature.