Chosen as one of the Best Books of the 21st Century by John Irving in The New York Times, this novel by Paul Theroux offers a vivid and insightful reimagining of George Orwell’s early years in colonial Burma.

Theroux skillfully fills in the gaps of Orwell’s biography, presenting a believable and compelling portrait of Eric Blair—the man who would become George Orwell. At nineteen, newly graduated from Eton, Blair is sent to Burma to serve as a colonial policeman. There, he faces the harsh realities of imperial rule, navigating complex social hierarchies, racial divisions, and personal doubts about his role in the British Empire. His experiences—marked by moral conflict, cultural tension, and growing disillusionment—ultimately shape his transformation from a conflicted young officer into the anticolonial writer known to the world as George Orwell.