Beyond the Book: Background information when reading Arthur & George

Beyond the Book

This article relates to Arthur & George

About the author: Julian Barnes was born in Leicester, England, in 1946,  Over the past 30 years he has written novels, non-fiction, short stories and two series (one in his own name and one as Dan Kavanagh).  He has won a number of literary prizes and has been nominated for the Booker Prize three times.  In France, he is the only writer to have won both the Prix Médicis and the Prix Fémina, and in 2004 he became a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Partial bibliography (novels & collections)
Metroland (1980)
Before She Met Me (1982)
Flaubert's Parrot (1984)
Staring At the Sun (1986)
A History of the World In 10 1/2 Chapters (1989)
The Porcupine (1992)
Cross Channel: Stories (1996)
England, England (1998)
The Lemon Table: Stories (2004)
Arthur And George (2005)

About Arthur & George
A photo of George Edalji.
The official Arthur Conan Doyle website.
The Arthur & George website - it's a little frustrating to get through the slow opening screens, but there's a fun quiz once you get inside.

On a visit to England, any Conan Doyle fan worth his salt will pay a visit to 221b Baker Street, the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes (now a museum); but true fans should take themselves on a day-trip out of London to Haslemere, where Conan Doyle lived for many years.  Indeed, you can even stay in his house, Undershaw, which is now a restaurant and hotel - but hurry, I'm told it's up for sale!

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This article relates to Arthur & George. It first ran in the February 3, 2006 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.