Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Orwell's dystopian novella Animal Farm, UCL Special Collections reminds you that we have a treasure trove of the author's historic archives free and open for all to explore.
On 17 August 1945, George Orwell published a slim, sharp satire that would become one of the most enduring political fables of the 20th century: Animal Farm. Eighty years later, the book's message about the corrupting nature of power remains as relevant as ever - and here at UCL, Orwell's legacy lives on in a remarkable archive of his papers, correspondence, and personal effects.
Orwell at UCL
The George Orwell Collection, managed by UCL Special Collections, is the foremost archive of Orwell material in the world and is inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. It contains unique materials such as Orwell's literary, political and domestic diaries, correspondence and early proofs, as well as first editions, early periodicals featuring his writing and rare translations.
Earlier this year, UCL added a new treasure to the collection: a set of rare letters between Orwell and his original publisher, revealing candid exchanges about the challenges of bringing Animal Farm to print in the fraught political climate of the mid-1940s.
Animal Farm in the Archive
In terms of Animal Farm, the collection is full of remarkable traces of the book's journey into the world. There is a carbon typescript with Orwell's own annotations, and even a radio script he adapted for the BBC and broadcast in January 1947. A highlight is a letter from T. S. Eliot to Orwell in July 1944: Eliot praised the manuscript but declined to publish it.
Perhaps most striking are the 287 published editions of Animal Farm held at UCL. From rare first editions to exam guides and plays, the collection spans translations from across the globe, including French, Chinese, Ukrainian, Hungarian, German, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian, Iranian and Creole. Some are illustrated by local artists; others reimagined as graphic novels. In whatever form, Orwell's fable has reached audiences everywhere for 80 years.You can view some online copies here.
As Sarah Aitchison, Director of Special Collections in UCL's Libraries, Culture, Collections and Open Science (LCCOS), explains:
"The Orwell archive allows us to see the man behind the books - a working writer grappling with politics, ideas and the practical realities of publication. What's extraordinary is how far Animal Farm has travelled: across languages, art forms and generations."
Why Animal Farm still matters
For Professor Jean Seaton, Director of the Orwell Foundation, Animal Farm remains Orwell's most unsettling and prescient work:
"Animal Farm is George Orwell's most insidious book. It is firmly rooted in its time and in Orwell's own life - in his knowledge of rural life, his understanding of Soviet Russia and the famine in the Ukrainian countryside imposed by Stalin, and his reading of parables from Kipling to the Bible. Yet it is also a fable for our times, when new ideologies overturn reason, decency, and compassion on every side."
This anniversary has sparked wide reflection on Orwell's legacy. Dr Charlotte Sleigh (UCL Science and Technology Studies) has asked what happens if we take Orwell's animals seriously in The Conversation. Orwell's son, Richard Blair, a UCL Honorary Fellow, shared his personal reflections in The Guardian, while Professor Seaton has written a broader anniversary essay in Prospect.
A living legacy
UCL Special Collections is committed to widening access to its holdings through teaching, research, outreach to schools and communities, events and public reading rooms. Many materials are digitised and freely available via the Digital Collections site.
The team works closely with the Orwell Literary Estate, the Orwell family and the Orwell Foundation to preserve and share Orwell's work. Recent collaborations have included a summer school and freely available journalism resources: Orwell in the Archive.
As the world marks 80 years of Animal Farm, UCL's custodianship of the Orwell Collection ensures that both the man and his message remain accessible to scholars, students and readers alike.
You can also visit UCL Special Collections in person and see the Orwell Archive with your own eyes. Tucked away in our libraries, it is open to all and free to visit on appointment. Don't forget to drop by next time you're on campus to dive into our world of historic literature.
The article was aritten by Alice Auckland, UCL Communications
