The Last Man in Europe: A Novel

By Dennis Glover

‘Rivetingly told . . . a terrifically assured hybrid of fiction and life-writing’ – New Statesman

‘Dennis Glover’s pacy novelisation of Orwell’s life takes its title from the one Orwell first had in mind for his totalitarian dystopia . . . Glover magically wrings high-stakes drama from thefundamentally undramatic scene of the writer at his desk’ – Daily Mail

The Last Man in Europe adopts the sound of Orwell so brilliantly . . . anyone with an interest in Orwell will certainly enjoy it’ – Orwell Society

The Last Man in Europe shows its readers the influences which shaped Orwell’s masterpiece, but transcends even that, giving an affecting portrait of the man himself’ – The Herald

1947. In a damp, run-down farmhouse on the island of Jura, George Orwell is embarking on his greatest work: Nineteen Eighty-Four. Forty-four years old and suffering from the tuberculosis that will eventually take his life, this book is his legacy – the culmination of a career spent fighting to preserve the freedoms which the wars and upheavals of the twentieth century have threatened. Completing the book is an urgent task – a race against death.

Dennis Glover explores the creation of Orwell’s final work, which for millions of readers worldwide defined the twentieth century. Simultaneously a captivating drama, a unique literary excavation and an unflinching portrait of a beloved writer, The Last Man in Europe will change the way you understand Nineteen Eighty-Four and George Orwell himself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Polygon
• Release date: Jan 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781788853170

Dennis Glover

Dennis Glover grew up in Doveton, Australia, before studying at Monash University and King’s College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a PhD in history. He has worked for two decades as an academic, newspaper columnist, political adviser and speechwriter. The Last Man in Europe is his first novel.