George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1949

Radio 4's Today programme is running the poll to coincide with World Book Day, which is also conducting its own poll.

Today asked listeners to vote for the book they believe most epitomises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, drawing up a shortlist of three books for each country.

The English list comprises of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, 1984 by George Orwell and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.

The Welsh shortlist includes On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin, Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas and Rape of a Fair Country by Alexander Cordell.

The organisers of World Book Day are running their own research to find books that give countries their identity and have drawn up shortlists of 10 books for each region.

World Book Day chairman Paul Henderson said the shortlists were very different, with their own survey including more contemporary novels.

He said the findings of the Radio 4 poll was very interesting because there was such a diversity in nominations but said there were a few general points that came across in the findings.

Rural life

"There is very few contemporary writers, and, where there are, they are writing about tradition rather than life so there's no Zadie Smith, Joanna Trollope or Irvine Welsh," said Mr Henderson.

"There is only one book by a woman and only one work of non-fiction."

The Scottish shortlist includes But n Ben A-Go-Go by Mathew Fit, A Passion for Scotland by David Ross and Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon.

The Northern Irish votes went to Robert McLiam Wilson for Eureka Street, Seamus Dean's Reading in the Dark and Annie McCartney's Desire Lines.

"The English list is very, very bleak and pessimistic, looking at England as being overwhelmed by helplessness, or the main characters seem to be," said Mr Henderson.

But he said the Northern Ireland shortlist was more contemporary and was less bleak while the Welsh choices reflected rural village life.

Listeners are now being asked to vote for their favourite and a winner from each country will be announced on World Book Day.