Orwell got the idea for the book when he saw in the newspapers of London that they listed how much the country's supplies increased (more supplies) during World War II when they were actually very low on supplies and were getting smaller. He started writing a political satire of the possible condition of Britain in 50 years. He wrote it in 1948, mostly during a visit to Jura, Scotland. He sent the writing to his publishers in December 1948.