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 novel is set in Airstrip One ( formerly known as Great Britain ) , a province of the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war , omnipresent government surveillance , and public manipulation . As literary political fiction and dystopian science-fiction , Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content , plot and style . In 2005 , the novel was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005 . 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 .