Nineteen Eighty-Four is fiction.
Nineteen Eighty-Four , often published as 1984 , is a dystopian novel published in 1949 by English author George Orwell . The protagonist of the novel , Winston Smith , is a member of the Outer Party , who works for the Ministry of Truth ( or Minitrue in Newspeak ) , which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism . It was awarded a place on both lists of Modern Library 100 Best Novels , reaching number 13 on the editor 's list , and 6 on the readers ' list .