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Arthur & George

By Julian Barnes

(58)

| Hardcover | 9780307263100

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Book Description

From one of England’s most esteemed novelists, an utter astonishment that captures an era through one life celebrated internationally and another entirely forgotten.

In the vast expanse of late-Victorian Britain, two boys come to life: George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and ArthuContinue

From one of England’s most esteemed novelists, an utter astonishment that captures an era through one life celebrated internationally and another entirely forgotten.

In the vast expanse of late-Victorian Britain, two boys come to life: George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, in shabby genteel Edinburgh, both of them feeling at once near to and impossibly distant from the beating heart of Empire. One falls prey to a series of pranks en route to a legal vocation, while the other studies medicine before discovering a different calling entirely, and it is years before their destinies are entwined in a mesmerizing alliance. We follow each through outrageous accusation and unrivaled success, through faith and perseverance and dogged self-recrimination, whether in the dock awaiting complete disgrace or at the height of fame while desperately in love with a woman not his wife, and gradually realize that George is half-Indian and that Arthur becomes the creator of the world’s most famous detective. Ranging from London clubs to teeming prisons, from a lost century to the modern age, this novel is a panoramic revelation of things we thought we knew or else had no clue of, as well as a gripping exploration of what goals drive us toward whatever lies in wait–an experience resounding with issues, no less relevant today, of crime and spirituality; of identity and nationality; of what we think, what we believe and what we can prove.

Intriguing, relentless and, most of all, moving, Arthur & George richly extends the reach and achievement of a novelist described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “a dazzling mind in mercurial flight.”

Critics

  • The curious case of the slashed horse

    He’s damn good, Julian Barnes; no doubt about that. But what exactly is it that he’s best at? I have never been able to work it out. Arthur & George, his tenth novel, is a crime novel, a two-person biography, a romance, a historical novel, and a phil ... (read full critics)

    spectator published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

  • Arthur & George By Julian Barnes

    At the beginning of the last century, a half-Indian, half-Scottish solicitor in provincial England was tried and convicted for the unlikely crime of mutilating a pony. Released after serving three years of a seven-year sentence, the innocent young ma ... (read full critics)

    bookpage published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

7 Reviews

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  • 4 people find this helpful

    Part facts, part fiction, this tale of two individuals from completely different worlds linked by fate and a common pursuit of justice is fascinating and enjoyable.

    Cannot be missed by fans of Sherlock Holmes as Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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    Tracy W said on Apr 12, 2007 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    My thoughts

    An interesting book about late 19th century English life as seen through the eyes of two men who seem very different but who also share some similarities. At times I felt the story lagged as the author focused on George and then a long section on Arthur, but when the two men meet and Arthur agrees t ... (continue)

    An interesting book about late 19th century English life as seen through the eyes of two men who seem very different but who also share some similarities. At times I felt the story lagged as the author focused on George and then a long section on Arthur, but when the two men meet and Arthur agrees to help George, the book regained my interest. I also liked learning about how Arthur created his fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.

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    krin5292 said on Feb 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • A true story of two people whose lives crossed at the beginning of last century. A Portrait of England of the period and of two people; the first the anonymous victim of injustice and prejudice, the second the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle who defended and partially exculpated him. A well researc ... (continue)

    A true story of two people whose lives crossed at the beginning of last century. A Portrait of England of the period and of two people; the first the anonymous victim of injustice and prejudice, the second the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle who defended and partially exculpated him. A well researched description of the costumes and mores of the era; an apt study of their personalities and the circumstances that caused their actions.

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    Ignominia said on Nov 8, 2010 | Add your feedback

  • Very readable. Loved the dichotomy between the two very different main characters and the way the formal device of a chapter per character gradually eases and the story grows.

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    Mearso said on Dec 3, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780307263100 Hardcover $24.95 $19.96 bn.com
-- $11.99 ebooks.com
$24.95 $30.79 The Book Depository
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