What Have George Orwell & G P Taylor in Common? Read On To Find Out!

Nineteen Eighty-Four (sometimes abbreviated to 1984) is a classic novel by English author George Orwell. It focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime, and tells how a massive Oligarchial Collectivist society would be able to repress any long lived dissent. The story follows the life of an insignificant man assigned the task of perpetuating the regime's propaganda by falsifying records and political literature. He grows disillusioned with his meager existence and so begins a rebellion against the system that leads to his arrest and torture.
The novel has become famous for its portrayal of government surveillance and control, and government's increasing encroachment on the rights of the individual. Since its publication, many of its terms, such as "Big Brother", "doublethink", and "Newspeak" have entered the popular vernacular. The word "Orwellian" itself has come to refer to anything reminiscent of the book's fictional regime.


I fear we are rapidly approaching the state of control envisioned in the novel.

Yet authors going into schools to talk about their books and work are going to be subjected to a VBS. I am delighted to see that some authors have taken it upon themselves to rebel at this Orwellian and stupid proposed regime. They have planned to boycott schools and not go in to give talks to the pupils. They feel they have already been accused of being untrustworthy, or even possible paedophiles by a government obsessed with meaningless minutiae.

One such author is G P Taylor, who was a policeman, then a vicar, before he became a popular children’s author. He visits schools at no charge and considers this is one of the most important aspects of his work. My message is that reading and literacy is one of the most important skills we can have.

One Yorkshire head teacher told him that "One word from an author is worth a thousand words from a teacher." She was not denouncing the value of teaching, but reinforcing the way of society that words are more likely to be listened to if they come from the mouth of a celebrity.

Author G P Taylor went on to say “It is worrying that this Labour Government is intent on stopping such events under the guise of child safety.”

More power to those authors who are pinning their colours to the mast and saying enough is enough!