Orwell’s Ghosts

Orwell’s Ghosts is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize 2025 in Biography and was named BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2024.

Seventy-five years after 1984 was first published, George Orwell is back in the public consciousness. Progressives denounce 'Orwellian' untruths by Trump, Johnson, Putin, and others, while conservatives accuse governments and mainstream media of 'Orwellian' censorship. But what does 'Orwellian' really mean? What would Orwell himself say about these crises, and what can we learn from his ideas?

Orwell's Ghosts reveals Orwell in all his complexity, exploring his commitment to political liberty and economic justice alongside his undeniable chauvinism. This incisive thinker's commentaries remain invaluable, whether on political truth, disinformation, class, race and empire, or emphasising the promise of socialism and the dangerous allure of authoritarianism. Even Orwell's misogyny offers troubling lessons about gender politics on the left. All of his books show a remarkable resonance between the first half of the twentieth century and today's world.

As it revisits Orwell's own age of rapid change and urgent crossroads, this book sheds unique light on both our recent past and our current upheavals.

"[A] lucid, engaging study.... Beers reaches a satisfying synthesis, writing that Orwell illuminates how 'to resist the temptations of totalitarianism in favour of a more open and democratic socialism'." The New Yorker

"Highly readable and thoughtful... Like some other significant recent works on Orwell, it mixes admiration for the author's keen appreciation of certain forms of injustice with a sharp critique of specific blind spots and prejudices he had." Prospect

"Rescues Orwell from 'two-dimensional caricature' to present one of our greatest novelists and essayists, warts and all. Beers reveals how Orwell's politics, shaped by the tragedies of the first half of the twentieth century, can help to understand our current age of insecurity. An essential read." — Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer

"Beers convincingly uses Orwell's work to address current events... Her careful reflections on Orwell's thought are of value for those familiar with his work and those who only know him from two of his books. A determined attempt to rescue Orwell from the clutches of right-wing pundits and others who misconstrue his messages." Kirkus Reviews

"A valuable exploration of what it actually means to be 'Orwellian'." Publisher Weekly

"A noteworthy addition to the field... [and] an effective intellectual springboard for engaging with the zeitgeist." Hindustan Times

"A succinct, wide-ranging work of what might be called applied literary exegesis, concluding with a reminder to those on the political left that they can only achieve their aims 'through common endeavour' with others." Harvard Magazine

"An interesting, challenging and enlightening book." Daily Kos

"Full of fascinating historical detail and keen insights into contemporary politics, this is a gripping, insightful guide to Orwell's significance in the twenty-first century." — Sandra Newman, author of Julia

"Essential reading for anyone who wants to know why Orwell is the ideal guide to our own age of upheaval." — Jason Cowley, Editor-in-Chief, The New Statesman

"With all and sundry taking Orwell's name in vain these days, it is timely to have a reminder of who he was and what he believed in, and also how his body of work can help us understand the world we live in now. Just the insight into his writings, beyond the obvious and best-known titles, makes Orwell's Ghosts well worth reading." — Nicola Sturgeon

"A perfectly timed and desperately needed book." — Tristan Snell, author of Taking Down Trump