IN response to Mr Kidd’s letter the two authors I would put forward are George Orwell who wrote 1984 (1948) and Aldous Huxley who wrote Brave New World (1932).

The first book is primarily concerned with the rewriting of history in order to control the future and the second book is primarily concerned with the destruction of the family, the oppression of individual differences, making promiscuity a virtue and the use of mindless enjoyment as a diversion.

Given the history of these authors and the knowledge they possessed, both of these novels were much more than just an uncanny prediction of the future.

David Bowman, Elbe Way, Andover