The Sisterhood: Big Brother is watching. But they won't see her coming.

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A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking journey through the looking glass of 1984. Compulsively written, Julia’s is a story begging to be told' FREYA BERRY, author of The Dictator's Wife However, with Big Brother always watching, and with her past threatening to catch up with her, is it worth Julia to play the game? Frightening and timely, Bradley’s The Sisterhood is the book everyone should read this year. If you thought it ended with Orwell, think again . . .' CHRISTINA DALCHER Bradley worked for many years managing services for people in prisons, mental health hospitals and those without fixed abode. She currently works in education and holds a first-class degree in English literature, in addition to qualifications in creative writing and teaching. As Kate Bradley, she has published two suspense thrillers. Perhaps, though, the act of explicitly reimagining a classic is not entirely distinct from what novelists do as a matter of course. "Novelists are quite parasitical in our approach to material, whether it's our own lives or turning people we've met into characters," says Biles. "There's always an element of harvesting material and producing something new with it."

A dazzling retelling of the classic dystopian novel, which raises profound questions about how society works, and whether or not woman have political agency. I found it memorable, deeply moving, and at times, terrifying' Tan agrees: “Books could delve into the same myth and yet be completely different – no story is ever the same with each writer bringing a new perspective, creating a different world and characters, or choosing to highlight a different element of the tale. The female perspective has become more valued – story, regardless of genre, now rightfully reflects that.” Taking an powerful, iconic and well known existing book and writing a before, after, sideways or alternative version is always a venture fraught with pitfalls. And one which rarely succeeds, as the long shadow and presence of the original often overpowers the later venture.In this highly original take on Orwell’s 1984– the Big Brother of all dystopian classics – Bradley weaves a complex and engaging plot around the idea of a female resistance to oppressive overlords. Oppressive and creepy, but with real heart’ A. K. TURNER Mark asked Katherine Bradley a philosophical question: ‘Why do societies allow this to happen? Having studied Orwell as you have many times and now written The Sisterhood, how do you answer that question?’ Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson: A queer, feminist retelling of the Hercules myth from the perspective of the forgotten women and male lovers who shaped the life of Greece’s greatest hero.

Authors have taken the same revisionist approach to more recent works. Last year saw the release of The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo and Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor, both of which retell F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby from the perspective of the book’s female principals, Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker. There are currently two feminist retellings of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four in the works (see panel). A former Russian student who spent time in the USSR during the 1980s, Newman brings to Julia her own insights into life under Soviet communism as well as her perspective as a female reader. "There is a lot of expression of real anger towards women in the novel," she says. "To me it was troubling. I've met a lot of people who actually couldn't finish the book or who hated it because of that." Nonetheless, she remains an admirer."One thing that Orwell can't be faulted on is his understanding of the psychology of totalitarianism. I was impressed by that pretty much every time I opened the book. I think that's still true of authoritarian movements now. The shoe still fits." From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: Meanwhile, Solomons describes writing Fair Rosaline as “imagining it like a ship, where above the surface you’ve got Romeo and Juliet, and underneath is what I’m writing, but it has to match perfectly”.The Sisterhood is told from the perspective of Julia, the main female character in 1984. "While on the outside, Julia seems to be the perfect example of what women in Oceania should be – dutiful, useful, subservient, meek – inside she hides a secret," the synopsis reads. "A secret that would lead to her death if discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of the Brotherhood, the anti-party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of the Brotherhood in co-worker Winston Smith, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp. Katherine Bradley has delivered a worthy counterpart to George Orwell's 1984 in this chilling, taut book. It's as claustrophobic as it needs to be; particularly frightening as one looks around and sees that we are voluntarily moving towards Orwell's nightmare. It is nothing short of a triumph' MARA TIMON, author of City of Spies A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking journey through the looking glass of 1984. Compulsively written, Julia’s is a story begging to be told' Closer to home, there is a similar interest in re-examining the stories that resonate deeply in our collective imagination. Jean Bedford’s Sister Kate reworks the Kelly gang legend from the point of view of Ned’s sister, Kate, while Leah Purcell interrogates Henry Lawson’s short story in The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson. Simon & Schuster has acquired The Sisterhood, a feminist retelling of George Orwell’s 1984 by teacher Katherine Bradley.

A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking journey through the looking glass of 1984 . Compulsively written, Julia’s is a story begging to be told' FREYA BERRY, author of The Dictator's Wife But in this world where having your own opinion is a crime, where the only emotion allowed is love for Big Brother and hate for Oceania's enemies, Outer Party Julia and the other members of The Sisterhood do whatever they can to fight for a free future. Hoping that she found a member of another rebel group - The Brotherhood, Julia sets out to gain information that will finally help then take down Big Brother. But no matter how careful she is, she is always being watched - like everyone else. But she has a weapon, her true identity, which might be the only thing she can use to take down Ingsoc or might be her downfall.I felt that ‘The Sisterhood’ presented a compelling alternative view of the events that took place in ‘1984’. While it can be read as a standalone, I would expect that the majority of readers will be familiar with the original. ‘1984’ is a novel that I have read a number of times over the years and continue to find it relevant, especially given the level of surveillance in modern day society.

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati: A nuanced and sympathetic story of the infamous queen of Sparta, who suffers the grimmest of betrayals and is driven by a ruthless desire for revenge. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel which reimagines the life of the queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. Photograph: Little, BrownNext month, & Juliet, a reboot of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, will premiere in Melbourne after successful seasons in London and New York: in this feel-good musical reimagining, Juliet doesn’t die, but goes on to have a pop song-fuelled post-Romeo life, while Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare provide a witty meta-commentary on the action. If you look at Anthony and Cleopatra, so much of it is just taken from Plutarch”, she says. “Shakespeare rewrites whole speeches and he takes something that is beautiful and elevates it.” A gut-wrenching, heart-breaking journey through the looking glass of 1984. Compulsively written, Julia’s is a story begging to be told’ – Freya Berry When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp.