Some Recent High Spots in Dystopian Fiction Orwell and PK Dick, BNW, F451, Handmaid’s Tale, Hunger Games Trilogy

Dystopian fiction is having a moment with certain titles pushing new highs. Four dystopian novels getting strong recent auction play including Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell. Also in demand are Man in the High Tower and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. The 1982 film Blade Runner was based on this book.

Another title in the dystopian genre exceeding pre-auction estimates is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley continues to be a scarce and pricey book.

Two later arrivals with dystopian themes are both by women. They are Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985 - Canadian, US and UK editions) and Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic 2008-09-10). Both are fairly recent books that have not yet established solid auction records, but show signs of becoming collectible titles.

Source of Auction Prices Realized: All the examples of prices realized cited in this article come from Rare Book Hub’s auction database consisting of more than 14 million individual records. Our RBH subscribers can see additional specific details of these transactions by logging in to their account and using the search function.

Some Orwell Highs

George Orwell was the pen name for Eric Arthur Blair, a 20th century English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist and critic. He was also a commentator for the BBC who wrote many works of fiction and non-fiction.

His two high point novels with dystopian themes are Animal Farm and 1984 (with the name written out on the jacket in cursive nineteen eighty-four). Both were published in the 1940s and both were popular favorites. According to his wiki, Orwell’s work is characterized by “lucid prose, social criticism, and opposition to totalitarianism.”

Animal Farm - A Fairy Story was written in 1937, but Orwell had trouble finding a publisher due to fears of angering the Soviet Union. The book was finally published in 1945 by Secker & Warburg in Great Britain. It was a runaway success in both the UK and the US.

Here’s a description from a Christie’s auction in Sept. 2023 for a copy of Animal Farm which was estimated to sell for between £1,000- £1,500.The hammer price was £11,970.

The Christies’ cataloger wrote: “First edition of arguably the most powerful satirical novel of the 20th century. Animal Farm sprang from Orwell's personal experience of the Soviet communists during the Spanish Civil War.

“Although written swiftly between November 1943 and February 1944, Animal Farm was not published until 1945. Orwell initially offered the work to Victor Gollancz, to whom he was contracted, but—as Orwell had predicted—Gollancz rejected it on political grounds because it was perceived as too overt a criticism of Britain's Soviet Allies and did not accord with Gollancz's personal pro-Soviet sympathies. Several other publishers rejected the book, including Jonathan Cape and Faber and Faber, before it was accepted by Secker and Warburg. (Bibliographical citations: Fenwick A.10a.) Octavo. Original green cloth boards and description of minor flaws.

In 2024 Bonhams also sold a very nice copy estimated at £2,500-3,000 which closed at £6,144. In June 2024 Heritage sold advance uncorrected proofs for the book estimated at $3,000-4,000 which zoomed to a solid selling price of $30,000.

The highest price for Animal Farm within the last decade was a copy sold by Bonham’s in June 2015 inscribed by Orwell to fellow UK author and friend Anthony Powell which was estimated in the £8,000 - £12,000 range; it sold for £92,500.

Here’s a link to a copy of Animal Farm presently in the inventory of London dealer Peter Harrington with an asking price of £12,500 and a number of very clear photos.

Harrington’s online description reads: “First edition, first impression, of Orwell's warning against corruption and totalitarianism under any political regime. His allegorical fable rapidly made Orwell's name, both in Britain and abroad. It has since appeared in every major language and has never been out of print.

“Orwell explained in a 1946 essay entitled ‘Why I Write’ that ‘Animal Farm was the first book in which I tried, with full consciousness of what I was doing, to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole.’ The imprint of the first impression reads "May 1945", though publication was delayed until August due to wartime paper shortages. Harrington’s online listing shows multiple views of the book and dust jacket.

There are other recent high value sales for Animal Farm from a variety of other auction houses. Rare Book Hub has 389 records for Animal Farm dating back to 1960.

nineteen eighty-four was Orwell's final novel published during his lifetime. It was published in 1949 to great critical acclaim. The book shocked contemporary readers with its depiction of a totalitarian regime characterized by constant surveillance.

There were far fewer opportunities to buy this book at auction compared with Animal Farm. Rare Book Hub displayed 22 records. A copy was sold by Heritage for $20,000 in July 2022 with no pre-auction estimate given. In June 2024 Heritage also sold an uncorrected proof copy of the novel for $28,750, substantially exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $8,000 to $10,000. The dust jacket for this book with the title written out in cursive script (nineteen eighty-four) was published in green and also another version in red.

Recent Philip K. Dick Auction High Points

The Man in the High Castle, Dick’s novel published in 1962 by Putnam is an alternate history narrative. It tells the story of how things might have been if the Nazi’s had won WWII. In 2024 Bonham’s sold a copy with a pre-auction estimate of £600 - £800 for £2,176. The prior year a copy of the same title appeared in a Heritage auction estimated at $2,400-$3,000. The selling price was a much higher $15,625.

Dick’s other high point novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published 1968 by Doubleday in the United States. It was also published in the United Kingdom in 1969 by Rapp and Whiting. It was the basis of the 1982 film Blade Runner.

In 2023 Pacific Book Auction offered a copy of the 1968 US edition estimated at $5,000-$8,000 which sold for $16,250. The PK Dick bibliography by Daniel Levak only made one recent appearance, that was in 2024, when a copy estimated at $300 - $500 sold for $660. Reprint editions of this book are widely available at under $100.

Several interesting Dick lots were sold by Potter and Potter in 2024. Each consisted of many examples of his writing in complete issues of pulp publications. One group estimated at $800-$1,200 sold for $1,800, another lot with fewer and later examples was estimated at $300-$500 had a hammer price of $600.

Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451, originally published by Ballantine in 1953 continues to bring top dollar. The novel about book burning also had several strong recent showings. In 2024 Heritage sold a pristine signed copy of the original hardback with dust jacket for $42,500, far higher that the pre-auction estimate of $2,400 - $3,600.

A somewhat different version of the book signed by the author and with a portion of the edition limited to 200 copies bound in asbestos also sold at Heritage the prior year for $13,125, substantially higher than the $6,400 - $9,600 pre-auction estimate.

An unusual signed offering is listed by antiquarian dealer Burnside Rare Books ABAA. This copy, which incorporates both the dust jacketed and the asbestos version is offered at $75,000 . RBH has 292 records for Fahrenheit 451.

Huxley’s Brave New World in a first trade edition with a dust jacket (London, 1932 Chatto & Windus) was sold by Lark Mason in 2024 for $7,187.50 beating the pre-auction estimate of $1,000-2,000. In 2021 a copy of BNW estimated between $2,400-$3,600 realized $10,625 at Heritage. There are over 500 transactions for this title dating back to 1934.

Those who follow dystopian fiction suggest that two somewhat later novels are also gaining a following. They are The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1986 in Canadian, US and UK editions). The first edition was published in Canada in 1985 by McClelland and Stewart. In 2022 Christie’s sold a UK first estimated at £4,000 - £6,000 for £11,340. The Canadian, US and US and UK editions each have a different dust jacket. There are 43 records for The Handmaid's Tale.

Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins consists of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay (Scholastic Books, 2008-9-10). In 2025 the Hunger Games trilogy sold for $720 at Potter and Potter. As a single volume it has 21 records. As a trilogy there are 11 results.