The Last Man in Europe A Novel

Simultaneously a captivating drama, a unique literary excavation, and an unflinching portrait of a writer, Dennis Glover’s novel The Last Man in Europe will change the way we understand both our enduringly Orwellian times and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

“Imaginative . . . cinematic . . . an unexpected treat for fans of George Orwell.” — Thomas E. Ricks, Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author

April, 1947. In a run-down farmhouse on a remote Scottish island, George Orwell begins his last and greatest work: Nineteen Eighty-Four. Forty-three years old and suffering from the tuberculosis that within three winters will take his life, Orwell comes to see the book as his legacy—the culmination of a career spent fighting to preserve the freedoms which the wars and upheavals of the 20th century have threatened. Completing the book is an urgent challenge, a race against death.

In this “highly compelling, deeply researched” (The National Review) novel, shortlisted for the Indie Book Award for Best Debut Fiction, Dennis Glover explores the creation of Orwell’s classic work, which for millions of readers worldwide defined the 20th century and is now again proving its unnerving relevance.

Dennis Glover earned his PhD in history from King’s College, Cambridge. He has worked for two decades as an academic, newspaper columnist, political adviser, and speechwriter. He is the author of The Art of Great Speeches, Orwell’s Australia, and The Economy is Not a Society. The Last Man in Europe is his first novel.