When George Orwell published the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1949, not only English but also world literature received a work gifted with an extraordinary intellectual vision. British society lives in 1984 under the bulletproof rule of the all-powerful Party, the main character Winston Smith stumbles in general misery and can only resist: he keeps a secret subversive diary. The hope of change comes to him when he meets the young, rebellious Julia - at first both only dream of fighting against the system, but eventually they muster up the courage to join a shadowy resistance movement. George Orwell accurately and insightfully describes the manipulation, spying, physical torture and psychological terror that are intrinsic to all totalitarian regimes. On a personal level, however, it also touches on more internal themes, such as love, trust and betrayal, and on an abstract level, it asks philosophical questions about the nature and knowledge of the world. The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published in a new translation by Petra Martínková.