George Orwell Books in Order
George Orwell wrote nine books in seventeen years, and the arc is unusually legible: a young writer goes poor, goes colonial, goes to war, and every experience becomes a book on its way to the two political fables that made his name a permanent adjective. He is the most quoted English writer of the century precisely because he wrote in sentences built to be quoted. (1903–1950).
Where to start
Animal Farm first — it is an afternoon's read, the satire is transparent, and it teaches you his method: plain prose, moral precision, no mercy for his own side. Nineteen Eighty-Four immediately after; it is the darker, permanent one. Then Homage to Catalonia, the memoir that explains where the politics came from, and the essays, which many readers end up valuing above the novels.
The complete list
Tick the boxes off as you read, or for the bookshelf.
| Year | Title | Series / type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Down and Out in Paris and London | Memoir | |
| 1934 | Burmese Days | Novel | |
| 1935 | A Clergyman's Daughter | Novel | |
| 1936 | Keep the Aspidistra Flying | Novel | |
| 1937 | The Road to Wigan Pier | Reportage | |
| 1938 | Homage to Catalonia | Memoir | |
| 1939 | Coming Up for Air | Novel | |
| 1945 | Animal Farm | Novella | |
| 1949 | Nineteen Eighty-Four | Novel |
Does the reading order matter?
The two famous books stand alone and can be read in either order. The interest of sequence is biographical: the early novels (Burmese Days through Coming Up for Air) each try out a voice, the two documentary books (Down and Out, The Road to Wigan Pier) invent the participant-reportage form, and Homage to Catalonia is the hinge where his anti-Stalinism is forged by being shot at by both sides. Read that one before Nineteen Eighty-Four and the novel's rage stops being abstract.
Which one is the best?
Nineteen Eighty-Four is the achievement; Animal Farm the perfection. Many working writers give the real answer — the essay collection, with 'Politics and the English Language' at the top.
Covered in depth here
An 8-question quiz, reading time, club questions and verified quotes for Animal Farm (how long), Nineteen Eighty-Four (how long).
Related guides
Readers finishing this shelf usually want the map next door: Franz Kafka books in order, Kurt Vonnegut books in order, Cormac McCarthy books in order. Every guide follows the same format — the shelf, the entry point, the honest answer about order.
Make it a project
Pick a session size and let the days accumulate — at the pace our reading speed test measures, most shelves above clear in a few weeks of half-hours. Every guide on the books in order shelf follows this same format, and when a book lands, its 8-question quiz is waiting on the original book quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What order should you read George Orwell books in?
No series. Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four are standalone; the earlier books reward reading in publication order only for the biography.
Where should I start with George Orwell?
Animal Farm, then Nineteen Eighty-Four immediately after — the two fables are the whole argument in miniature.
How many George Orwell books are there?
Nine books: five novels, two works of documentary reportage, one war memoir, and one (Animal Farm) that defies category. Plus some of the most influential essays in the language, gathered in posthumous collections.
What was George Orwell's first book?
Down and Out in Paris and London (1933) — the first row of the list above.