Orwell's most famous book is 1984 (1949), a dystopian novel that continues to be taught in schools and referenced in political discourse. Animal Farm (1945) is also widely known, especially for its allegorical critique of the Soviet Union and totalitarianism.

Orwell's writing has affected various authors and intellectuals, including Margaret Atwood, who was inspired by 1984 when writing The Handmaid's Tale. Other writers, like Ray Bradbury, Aldous Huxley, and Anthony Burgess, also wrote dystopian fiction novels inspired by Orwell's idea. His commitment to truth and clarity of language affected journalists and essayists around the world.

Orwell met with limited success during his life, attracting attention for his essays and early work in novels. It was with Animal Farm that he became world famous, much as a result of its timing as a political book—written almost at the conclusion of World War II, it capitalized on burgeoning anti-Soviet opinion. When 1984 came out, he was a well-known name, though he was already ill and dead shortly thereafter. After his death in 1950, Orwell's popularity grew at incredible velocity. Today, he is seen as a prophetic voice, and his books are prescribed reading in literature and political science courses all over the globe. His criticisms of totalitarianism remain current and contemporary and secure his place in the British literary pantheon forevermore.