Brilliantly imagined and irresistibly readable, Arthur & George is a major new novel from Julian Barnes, a wonderful combination of playfulness, pathos and wisdom. Searching for clues, no one would ever guess that the lives of Arthur and George might intersect. Growing up in shabby-genteel nineteenth-century Edinburgh, Arthur is saddled with a dad who is a disgrace and a mum he wishes to protect, and is propelled into a life of action. To his astonishment, his career as a self-made man of letters brings him riches and fame ...
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Brilliantly imagined and irresistibly readable, Arthur & George is a major new novel from Julian Barnes, a wonderful combination of playfulness, pathos and wisdom. Searching for clues, no one would ever guess that the lives of Arthur and George might intersect. Growing up in shabby-genteel nineteenth-century Edinburgh, Arthur is saddled with a dad who is a disgrace and a mum he wishes to protect, and is propelled into a life of action. To his astonishment, his career as a self-made man of letters brings him riches and fame and, in the world at large, he becomes the perfect picture of the honourable English gentlemen. George is irredeemably an outsider, and has no hope of becoming such a picture. Though he's dogged and logical, a vicar's son from rural Staffordshire, he is set apart, and he and his family are targeted in his boyhood by a poison-pen campaign. George finds safe harbour in the reliability of rules, and grows up to become a solicitor, putting his faith in the insulating value of British justice. Then crisis upsets the uneasy equilibrium of both men's lives. Arthur is knocked for a loop by guilt and other dishonourable emotions. George is put to the sorest test, accused of a horrible crime. And from that point on their lives weave together in the most profound and surprising way, as each man becomes the other's salvation. Arthur & George is a masterful novel about low crime and high spirituality, guilt and innocence, identity, nationality and race. Most of all, it's a profound and witty meditation on the fateful differences between what we believe, what we know and what we can prove. "George and his father pray together, kneeling side by side on the scrubbed boards. Then George climbs into bed while his father locks the door and turns out the light. As he falls asleep, George sometimes thinks of the floor, and how his soul must be scrubbed just as the boards are scrubbed. Father is not an easy sleeper, and has a tendency to groan and wheeze. Sometimes, in the early morning, when dawn is beginning to show at the edges of the curtains, Father will catechize him. "George, where do you live?" "The Vicarage, Great Wyrley." "And where is that?" "Staffordshire, Father." "And where is that?" "The centre of England." "And what is England, George?" "England is the beating heart of the Empire, Father." "Good. And what is the blood that flows through the arteries and veins of the Empire to reach even its farthest shore?" "The Church of England." "Good, George." And after a while Father will begin to groan and wheeze again. George watches the outline of the curtain harden. He lies there thinking of arteries and veins making red lines on the map of the world, linking Britain to all the places coloured pink: Australia and India and Canada and islands dotted everywhere. He thinks of blood bubbling though these tubes and emerging in Sydney, Bombay, the St. Lawrence Waterway. Bloodlines, that is a word he has heard somewhere. With the pulse of blood in his ears, he begins to fall asleep again." --excerpt from Arthur & George
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Add this copy of Arthur & George to cart. $6.71, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Arthur & George to cart. $12.99, good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2005 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Arthur & George to cart. $15.00, like new condition, Sold by Scene of the Crime Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Niagara Falls, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Random House Canada.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in fine dust jacket. First Canadian edition first printing of this historical crime novel featuring Arthur Conan Doyle. Made into the 2015 television mini series starring Martin Clunes. In fine / fine condition. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 360 p. Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of Arthur & George to cart. $20.00, very good condition, Sold by Hockley Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Palgrave, ON, CANADA, published by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Arthur & George to cart. $21.00, like new condition, Sold by Brian Bauld (B-Line Books) rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Amherst, NS, CANADA, published 2005 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Arthur and George (Signed Copy) to cart. $65.00, like new condition, Sold by JWMah rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by Random House of Canada, Limited.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Signed by Author (CAD) First Printing SIGNED BY AUTHOR with his tiny signature to the title page, no other markings, Fine in unclipped Fine Dj. hardcover, 360pp. This is Barnes's novel on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Augustus Anson. (2.0 WL HOZ 402/b2.
This is an interesting piece of historical fiction. It's a very interesting look at an aspect of English Society in the Victorian era that most people don't think about. Both George and Arthur are well written, and are written in very different styles. I really enjoyed watching them both mature over the course of their lives. When the secret about George's family history was revealed, it was a delightful moment of realization.
Both narratives were very compelling, and I really enjoyed when George and Arthur finally met. The blend of fiction and history seemed very plausible.
I really enjoyed learning more about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's personal life through this book.
George's feelings of isolation and fear are beautifully described in this book. I think the themes of race and social status in this book are extremely relevant today.
I'm not sure I'll be re-reading this one for a while. It was very good, but I don't feel compelled to read this one again right away.
I'd recommend this book to fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, people who are interested in race/class dynamics, people who are interested in looking at Victorian England from a new perspective, and anyone who has ever felt alone, powerless, and scared.
