Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946 Leicester, England) is a contemporary English writer. He has been shortlisted three times for the Man Booker Prize (Flaubert's Parrot (1984), England, England (1998), and Arthur & George (2005)). He has written crime fiction under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh.
Easton Press Julian Barnes books
The Noise of Time - signed first edition - 2016
(This page contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.)
Julian Barnes biography
Following an education at the City of London School and Magdalen College, Oxford, he worked as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary. Subsequently, he worked as a literary editor and film critic. He now writes full-time. His brother, Jonathan Barnes, is a philosopher specializing in Ancient Philosophy.
Writing
His first novel, Metroland, is a short, semi-autobiographical story of Christopher, a young man from the London suburbs who travels to Paris as a student, finally returning to London. It deals with themes of idealism, sexual fidelity and has the three-part structure that is a common theme in Barnes' work. In 1983, his second novel Before She Met Me features a darker narrative, a story of revenge by a jealous historian who becomes obsessed by his second wife's past. Barnes's breakthrough novel Flaubert's Parrot broke with the traditional linear structure of his previous novels and consists of a fragmentary biographical narrative of an elderly doctor, Geoffrey Braithwaite, who focuses obsessively on the life of Gustave Flaubert. The novel was published to great acclaim, especially in France.
Staring at the Sun followed in 1986, another ambitious novel about a woman growing to maturity in post-war England who deals with issues of love, truth and mortality. In 1989 Barnes published A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters, which was also a non-linear novel, which uses a variety of writing styles to call into question the perceived notions of human history and knowledge itself.
In 1991, he published Talking it Over, a contemporary love triangle, in which the three characters take turns to talk to the reader, reflecting over common events. This was followed ten years later by a sequel, Love, etc, which revisited the characters ten years later.
Barnes is a keen Francophile, and his 1996 book, Cross Channel, is a collection of 10 stories charting Britain's relationship with France. He also returned to the topic of France in Something to Declare, a collection of essays on French subjects.
Other works include England, England, a satire on Britishness and the culture of tourism; and Arthur and George, a detailed story based on the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and his involvement in the Great Wyrley Outrages. His 1992 book, The Porcupine, deals with the trial of a fictional former Communist dictator, based on Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov.
Metroland
Metroland is an English novel written by Julian Barnes and published in 1980. It is a first person account of Christopher Lloyd and his experiences growing up in the suburbs of London (so-called Metroland), his brief life in Paris as a graduate student and the early years of his subsequent marriage. As adolescents Christopher and his childhood friend Toni had shown contempt for the bourgeois establishment but this lifestyle is one that Christopher ultimately chooses, much to Toni's disappointment, obtaining a secure job in publishing, marrying, buying a house and having a child. Christopher realises that his normal life and somewhat mundane marriage are not perfect, nor are they necessarily more exciting than his time in Paris with his bold French girlfriend Annick, but he does love his wife and is content.
Metroland Film
In 1997 Metroland was made into a film starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. The executive producer Andrew Bandall and director Philip Saville needed three songs from the punk era to be included in the live band scenes played by a fictitious group called The Subverts. Danny de Matos and Del Bartle were asked to write the songs to be included in the film. These three particular songs that featured in the film (although not in the Polygram soundtrack) "Amerikka We Hate You", "Destroy the Hoi Polloi" and "You Destiny" were also produced by Danny de Matos.
Julian Barnes books in order
Metroland (1980)
Before She Met Me (1982)
Flaubert's Parrot (1984)
Staring at the Sun (1986)
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (1989)
Talking It Over (1991)
The Porcupine (1992)
England, England (1998)
Love, etc (2000)
Arthur & George (2005)
The Sense of an Ending (2011)
The Noise of Time (2016)
The Only Story (2018)
Elizabeth Finch (2022)
Departure(s) (2026)
Collections
Cross Channel (1996)
The Lemon Table (2004)
Pulse (2011)
Non-fiction
Letters from London (1995)
Something to Declare (2002)
The Pedant in the Kitchen (2003)
Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2008)
Through the Window (2012)
A Life with Books (2012)
Levels of Life (2013)
Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art (2015)
The Man in the Red Coat (2019)
Changing My Mind (March, 2025)
Dan Kavanagh books in order
Duffy (1980)
Fiddle City (1981)
Putting the Boot In (1985)
The 50p Santa. A Duffy Detective Story (1985)
Going to the Dogs (1987)
Julian Barnes quotes
"History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation."
"Books say: she did this because. Life says: she did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't."
"I don't believe in God, but I miss Him."
"The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously."
"You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed."
"Books are where things are explained to you, life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books."
Source and additional information: Julian Barnes