Introduction
Animal Farm is a novella by George Orwell, and is perhaps the most famous satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism. Published in 1945, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era. Orwell, a democratic socialist, and a member of the Independent Labour Party for many years, was a critic of Stalin, and was suspicious of Moscow-directed Stalinism after his experiences with the NKVD during the Spanish Civil War.
The novel was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to present) and was number 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.
"Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism as I understand it." -- George Orwell, "Why I Write"