It is the history of a revolution that went wrong – and of the
excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the
perversion of the original doctrine,' wrote Orwell for the first
edition of Animal Farm in 1945. Orwell wrote the novel at
the end of 1943, but it almost remained unpublished. Its savage
attack on Stalin, at that time Britain's ally, led to the book
being refused by publisher after publisher. Orwell's simple, tragic
fable, telling what happens when the animals drive out Mr Jones and
attempt to run the farm themselves, has since become a world famous
classic.
'It is the book for everyone and Everyman, its brightness undimmed
after fifty years.
Ruth Rendell, Daily Telegraph
