If George Orwell were alive today would he still make 1984 a book about the way people are controlled through the language they experience?

It is an interesting question, I think, especially when one remembers the way in which Newspeak was created as a language of restricted grammar and limited vocabulary, designed to limit freedom of thought and personal identity.

Now of course there isn’t such a centralised plan in the UK today, but it can be argued that students who don’t get to experience classic literature are being restricted to a lower level of self-expression which does nothing to enhance their chances when they leave school.

Indeed the issue is now that a significant number of children leaving primary school do so with a noticeable “Word-Gap” which can affect self-esteem and behaviour as well as their life-chances beyond school.

And it appears that the most effective way to reduce the word-gap is by giving pupils and students the experience of reading a wide variety of quality texts.

This is where Wordsworth Editions comes in, as we have a wide range of books from as little as £1.88 each (with no delivery charge and no minimum order) covering authors from Wilkie Collins to Joseph Conrad, Conan Doyle to Mary Shelley.

If you want to see our selection of 50 essential texts please do click here.

We also have our offer of a free book just in case you have not come across Wordsworth Editions before.  (Or indeed just in case the notion of books from as little as £1.88 each with free delivery seems just too good to be true.)

So, to receive a free sample of one of our classics without any obligation please do email education@wordsworth-editions.com with your name and the school address, and we’ll put it in the post to you with our compliments.

We look forward to hearing from you.