Which of the following inspired the name '1984' for George Orwell's novel: a poem by his wife, numerology, Nostradamus' work, or a railway ticket?

dave_fl

Was 1984 inspired by Orwell's wife? By Peter Foster in London. One of English literature's most enduring riddles has taken a fresh twist with the rediscovery of a poem written almost 65 years ago by George Orwell's first wife. But the real reason may be contained in a poem entitled End of the Century 1984 written by Orwell's first wife, Eileen O'Shaughnessy, who died in 1944. It was composed in 1934, 15 years before the novel appeared, and was recently rediscovered by the Times Literary Supplement. The poem was written to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sunderland Church High School in north-eastern England where O'Shaughnessy had been a pupil in the 1920s. It looks back over the last 50 years and forward to school's centenary in 1984. http://www.arlindo-correia.com/101103.html [Added reference link - McG] Apr 09 00, 11:58 AM

zbeckabee

It may allude to Jack London's novel The Iron Heel (in which a political movement's power reaches its acme in 1984), or to G. K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill (also set in 1984), or to a poem by his wife, Eileen O'Shaughnessy, titled "End of the Century, 1984". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four#Orwell.27s_influences Jan 20 08, 4:28 PM