THE MANE MAN

★ ★ ★

GEORGE Orwell’s classic novel 1984 was published on this day 70 years ago.

With its catchphrase “Big Brother is watching you”, it is set in a future where all citizens’ deeds and thoughts are strictly monitored, and they are subject

Orwell initially named his novel 1980, then 1982, before he settled on 1984 – believed to be a version of the year the book was written: 1948. Room 101, where punishments happen, was inspired by the Ministry of Information’s real office at the BBC, where the writer worked. Orwell was also under surveillance by special branch while writing 1984 due to his book The Road To Wigan Pier, a socialist investigation into poverty and class in the 1930s.

The character Julia, Winston Smith’s love interest, was based on the writer’s second wife Sonia Bronfield. Big Brother’s regime borrowed to a stream of propaganda telling them how wonderful things are. ★

Of course things are not wonderful at all – but there are harsh punishments for those who rebel. Here, NATASHA WYNARCZYK presents 12 facts about the book…

characteristics from totalitarian authorities including the Soviet Union and the Japanese wartime secret police. In 2017 there was a spike in sales. Some thought this was down to President Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway using 1984-style language about his inauguration. The best known movie version, inset, came out in 1984 and starred John Hurt. There have also been stage, TV and opera adaptations. Eurythmics wrote the film’s soundtrack and one of its songs, Sexcrime (Nineteen

Eighty-Four) reached number four in the singles chart.

The novel has also been referenced in songs by artists including Muse, The Jam and David Bowie. It also predicted several modern technologies, from CCTV and emails to being watched through webcams.

It is one of the most banned books in the world, including the old Soviet Union and even Florida – for containing “explicit sexual matter”. While writing 1984, Orwell was severely ill with tuberculosis. He died from complications of the disease just seven months after it was published

– so he never saw its impact. PARTNERS IN CRIME: Eurythmics

THIS majestic beast channels his inner Lion King as he surveys his surroundings. He was captured gazing at the skyline from his jungle throne in Nairobi National Park, Kenya. Photographer Suhail Manji, 32, has been snapping wildlife in the park for four years. He said: “In the pictures you can see a lion named Sirikoi overlooking his kingdom after a brief scuffle with his brother Segel.”

MAKE A DATE: Orwell, John Hurt and the book