A vintage typewriter – George Orwell Books in Order

George Orwell Books in Order: The Complete Reading Guide

March 16, 2026

Updated September 2026

George Orwell Books in Order: The Short Answer

George Orwell (1903–1950) published nine books in his lifetime: six novels and three works of nonfiction, plus several essay collections. His two famous novels, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), were the last two books he published. Here are the George Orwell books in order of publication:

Down and Out in Paris and London (1933, nonfiction)
Burmese Days (1934, novel)
A Clergyman's Daughter (1935, novel)
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936, novel)
The Road to Wigan Pier (1937, nonfiction)
Homage to Catalonia (1938, nonfiction)
Coming Up for Air (1939, novel)
Animal Farm (1945, novel)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949, novel)

None of the books are connected, so you can read them in any order. Almost everyone starts with one of those two, and that's the right call. The earlier books make much more sense once you know where Orwell ended up.

In this guide:

Who Orwell Was, and Why It Shapes the Books
The Novels, One by One
The Nonfiction and Essays
Our Suggested Orwell Reading Order
Animal Farm and 1984: Age and Content Notes
Animal Farm and 1984 on Film
Orwell on Our Used Shelves
Frequently Asked Questions

Who Orwell Was, and Why It Shapes the Books

"George Orwell" was the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, born in Motihari, India, in 1903. He first used the name on Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933. Nearly everything he wrote grew directly out of something he'd lived through:

Burma, 1922–1927. Five years in the Indian Imperial Police gave him Burmese Days and the essays "A Hanging" and "Shooting an Elephant," and a lasting hatred of empire.
Poverty, late 1920s and early 1930s. He deliberately lived as a tramp and a dishwasher, which became Down and Out in Paris and London.
Northern England, 1936. He was sent to report on unemployment and mining towns, producing The Road to Wigan Pier.
Spain, 1936–1937. He fought for the Republic in a POUM militia, was shot through the throat by a sniper in May 1937, and then had to flee Spain when his own side turned on the POUM. Homage to Catalonia tells the story. It's the key to understanding Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, because Spain is where he saw Soviet-backed propaganda rewrite events he'd witnessed himself.
The BBC, 1941–1943. He worked as a producer on broadcasts to India. The Ministry of Truth owes something to it.
Jura, 1946–1948. He wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four on a remote Scottish island while seriously ill with tuberculosis. He died in London in January 1950, just seven months after it came out.

The Novels, One by One

The 1930s novels

Burmese Days (1934) is a bitter portrait of a small British colonial outpost. A Clergyman's Daughter (1935) follows a vicar's daughter who loses her memory and drifts through hop-picking, homelessness and schoolteaching; Orwell himself thought it a failure. Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936) is about a struggling poet in a bookshop who has declared war on money. Coming Up for Air (1939) is the best of the four: a middle-aged insurance salesman sneaks back to his childhood village, convinced another war is coming.

These are worth reading if you like Orwell, but they're conventional novels of their time and nothing like his two famous books.

Animal Farm (1945)

A short "fairy story," as Orwell subtitled it, in which the animals of Manor Farm overthrow the farmer and gradually find themselves ruled by the pigs. It's a close allegory of the Russian Revolution and Stalin's rise, and it was turned down by several publishers, including T.S. Eliot at Faber, because Britain and the Soviet Union were wartime allies. It was published on August 17, 1945.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting the past, in a Britain renamed Airstrip One and ruled by the Party and Big Brother. It was published on June 8, 1949 and gave the language "Big Brother," "doublethink," "thoughtcrime," "Newspeak" and "Room 101." Don't skip the appendix on the principles of Newspeak at the end; it matters to how the book should be read.

The Nonfiction and Essays

Many readers, and many writing teachers, think Orwell's nonfiction is his best work. Homage to Catalonia is the one to read first. Down and Out is the most entertaining. The Road to Wigan Pier is half reportage and half argument, and the second half is the one people still fight about.

Essay collections in order

Inside the Whale and Other Essays (1940)
The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius (1941)
Critical Essays (1946)
Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays (1950, posthumous)
England Your England and Other Essays (1953, posthumous)

The essays everyone should read

"A Hanging" (1931), "Shooting an Elephant" (1936), "Politics and the English Language" (1946) and "Why I Write" (1946). All are short. "Politics and the English Language," with its six rules for clear writing, is the single most useful thing a high school student can read about writing, and it earns a place beside the novels on our list of the best books for high school homeschool students. Any selected essays volume will contain all four.

For the dedicated, his letters, diaries and journalism fill four volumes in The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters (1968) and twenty in The Complete Works (1986–1998).

Our Suggested Orwell Reading Order

This is the path we'd recommend for a student or new reader:

Animal Farm — short, clear and a good way to learn how allegory works.
"Shooting an Elephant" and "Politics and the English Language" — to meet Orwell's own voice.
Nineteen Eighty-Four — the big one.
Homage to Catalonia — the true story behind both famous novels.
Down and Out in Paris and London or Coming Up for Air — depending on whether you prefer his reporting or his fiction.

If you're pairing him with another writer, Brave New World is the classic companion to Nineteen Eighty-Four. Aldous Huxley even taught Orwell French briefly at Eton, and wrote him a letter comparing their two futures after Nineteen Eighty-Four came out. Our Aldous Huxley books in order guide covers his side of the pairing.

For younger teens who aren't ready for either, our list of the best dystopian books for teens starts with gentler dystopias for ages 10–13. If you're planning a full high school course, Orwell sits alongside the other essentials on our British literature reading list.

Animal Farm and 1984: Age and Content Notes

Animal Farm is usually taught in grades 8–10 and is suitable for most readers from about 12. There's violence, including executions of animals and the death of a beloved character, but it's not graphic. Some younger children read it as a sad animal story and miss the politics entirely, which is fine for a first reading.

Nineteen Eighty-Four belongs in the high school years, usually grades 10–12. Parents should know it includes:

A sexual relationship between Winston and Julia, described frankly though not explicitly
Extended scenes of psychological and physical torture in the last part of the book
A deeply bleak ending

It has been among the most frequently challenged books in American schools, and it rewards discussion more than almost any novel we can think of. Down and Out and Keep the Aspidistra Flying have some coarse language and adult situations; the 1930s novels in general are aimed at adult readers.

Animal Farm and 1984 on Film

Animal Farm (1954), a British animated film. It changes the ending so the animals rise up again against the pigs, which undercuts Orwell's point.
Animal Farm (1999), a live-action TV film that also alters the ending.
Animal Farm (2025), an animated film directed by Andy Serkis, released in US theaters by Angel Studios on May 1, 2026. It reworks the story around a new piglet character and shifts the satire toward modern corporate greed. It is a loose adaptation.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954), a BBC television play starring Peter Cushing.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), starring John Hurt, with Richard Burton in his final film role. Faithful and grim, with nudity; adults and older teens only.

For students, the books are short enough that there's no reason to substitute a film. If you do watch one alongside, compare the endings. It's a good assignment.

Orwell on Our Used Shelves

Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four are among the easiest classics to find secondhand, since so many schools assign them. For the rest, search for Homage to Catalonia or Down and Out in Paris and London, or browse our classic literature and science fiction collections. We ship free on orders over $15.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books did George Orwell write?

Nine books were published in his lifetime: six novels and three book-length works of nonfiction. Several essay collections and many volumes of letters and journalism followed.

Should I read Animal Farm or 1984 first?

Animal Farm. It's shorter and easier, and it introduces the ideas about power and propaganda that Nineteen Eighty-Four develops much further.

What was George Orwell's last book?

Nineteen Eighty-Four, published on June 8, 1949. Orwell died of tuberculosis in January 1950.

What was George Orwell's real name?

Eric Arthur Blair. He first used the pen name George Orwell for Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933.

Is 1984 appropriate for teenagers?

It's usually taught in grades 10–12. It contains a sexual relationship described frankly and extended torture scenes, so it suits older teens better than middle schoolers.