This book is a clear story about power, language, and memory. It shows how a good dream about equality can change when leaders control the truth.
When the idea began. Orwell first thought about the story in 1937, after his time in the Spanish Civil War. There he saw how news could hide the truth, and how simple words could move crowds. This experience pushed him to warn readers about false stories and fear.
When he wrote it. He wrote Animal Farm quickly, between November 1943 and February 1944, during World War II. He wanted ordinary people to understand politics without long theory, so he used animals, a farm, and short rules on a wall.
Farm details. Orwell lived in the village of Wallington (Hertfordshire, England). He kept hens and other animals. Everyday farm work helped him turn big ideas into a simple, living picture.
Problems with publishers. Several publishers said no, because the Soviet Union was a wartime ally. Even the poet T. S. Eliot, an editor at Faber & Faber, rejected it. Orwell also wrote a preface called “The Freedom of the Press”—about self-censorship in Britain—but it was not printed at the time.
Publication. The book finally appeared in London on 17 August 1945 (Secker & Warburg). American editions soon dropped the original subtitle, “A Fairy Story.”
Afterlife and impact. The book was banned for years in the USSR and other places. Later, during the Cold War, there was even a 1954 animated film linked to government funding. Today the story is read worldwide in schools and language classrooms because its lessons are still clear and sharp.
Quick facts
- Original subtitle: Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (removed in some later editions).
- Written: Nov 1943 – Feb 1944. Published (UK): 17 Aug 1945.
- Key inspiration: Spanish Civil War; Orwell’s disillusion with propaganda and Stalinism.
- Preface: The Freedom of the Press (about self-censorship); printed years later.
- Setting roots: Details from Orwell’s smallholding in Wallington (hens, simple farm life).
- Legacy: Bans in the USSR; 1954 animated film; now a classic in schools worldwide.