With “alternative facts” and newspeak the order of the political day, a growing audience for George Orwell’s work has emerged. Orwell is one of the most celebrated 20th-century literary figures and his dystopian novel 1984 continues to be widely read and discussed. This illustrated narrative of his life is uniquely accessible and provides the insight needed to understand Orwell and his political activism, with the kind of light touch that Orwell himself appreciated. David Smith is the author of Marx's Capital Illustrated. Mike Mosher provided the art for Marx's Capital Illustrated and helps edit and produce Bad Subjects: Political Education in Everyday Life.