Arthur & George (London Review Bookshop, 2005; Limited Edition Cloth)


Notes on this edition: In 2005, the London Review Bookshop began publishing limited editions in high quality bindings, and they chose Julian Barnes’s novel Arthur & George to inaugurate the series. Overseen by Andrew Stilwell, the London Review Bookshop’s limited editions typically feature two kinds of special bindings (cloth and leather) housed in finely constructed slip cases.

From the limitation page:

A special signed limited First Edition of Arthur & George, of which one hundred and twenty-five have been quarter-bound in cloth and numbered 1 to 125, and twenty-five quarter-bound in leather and numbered i to xxv.

The patterned boards are from a design by Enid Marx for The Curwen Press. The book has been bound and slipcased by The Fine Bindery, Wellingborough, Northants.

The edition pictured above is number 43 of 125, bound in quarter cloth. The book itself measures 24 x 15.7 cm. The slipcase measures 24.9 x 16.9 cm.

The Guardian briefly discussed the new limited edition series on 2 July 2005.

Upstream! / Controcorrente (Gruppo editoriale L’Espresso, 2008; English / Italian)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Upstream! / Controcorrente. Rome: La Biblioteca di Repubblica – L’Espresso, 2008. Pp. 95 + [1]. 17.9 x 13.5 cm. Translated by Riccardo Mainardi. (Dual Language edition in English & Italian).

This book is #10 in a series of dual language publications that print the English and Italian translation side-by-side. Excerpts the chapter “Upstream!” from Julian Barnes’s A History of the World in 10½ Chapters along with Riccardo Mainardi’s translation for the Giulio Einaudi edition of the novel originally published in 1997.

Pulse (Vintage International, 2012)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Pulse: Stories. New York: Vintage International, 2012. Pp. 227 + [3]. 20.2 x 13 cm. ISBN: 9780307742407.

First American edition with “First Vintage International Edition, Feburary 2012” printed to the copyright page. Paper covers with book design by Michael Appuhn.

El loro de Flaubert | Flaubert’s Parrot (Editorial Anagrama/Compactos, 1997; Spanish)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. El loro de Flaubert | Flaubert’s Parrot. Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama/Compactos, 1997. Pp. 229 + [3]. 18.5 x 12 cm. Translated by Antonio Mauri. ISBN: 9788433920904 (Spanish)

Editorial Anagrama issued El loro de Flaubert in a compact edition (Compactos 86). The book pictured is the 3rd printing (“Tercera edición”) published in 1997.

Also pictured (below) is the 5th printing (“Quinta edición”), published in September 2001 and the 11th printing published in 2016.

The Sense of an Ending (Harrap/Larousse, 2013)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. The Sense of an Ending. Paris: Harrap/Larousse, 2013. Pp. 156 + [4]. 19.1 x 12.5 cm. ISBN: 9782818702796.

This edition publishes the English text with key words translated into French in the margins to assist French readers wishing to read the original English. The cover states: “Lire en anglais avec la traduction des mots-clés” (“Read in English with the translation of key words”).

Une histoire du monde en 10 chapitres 1/2 | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Mercure de France, 2011; French)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Une histoire du monde en 10 chapitres 1/2 | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Paris: Mercure de France, 2011. Pp. 482 + [14]. 20.5 x 14 cm. Translated by Michel Courtois-Fourcy. ISBN: 9782715231566 (French).

French edition reissued in 2011, with wrap-around paper band.

Rien à craindre | Nothing to Be Frightened of (Mercure de France, 2009; French)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Rien à craindre | Nothing to Be Frightened of. Mercure de France, 2009. Pp. 301 [302] + [4]. 20.5 x 14 cm. Translated by Jean-Pierre Aoustin. ISBN: 9782715228726. (French).

This is the first French edition published in January 2009, issued with wrap-around paper band. Later in 2009, the Gallimard Folio edition appeared (series no. 5070).

Pedantul în bucătărie | The Pedant in the Kitchen (Editura Nemira, 2006; Romanian)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Pedantul în bucătărie | The Pedant in the Kitchen. Bucureşti: Editura Nemira, 2006. Pp. 182 [183] + [9]. 17.9 x 10.2 cm. Translated by Marina Radu. ISBN: 9735697882. (Romanian).

The Romanian edition of Julian Barnes’s collection of cookery essays The Pedant in the Kitchen include the original illustrations by Joe Berger that first appeared in The Guardian alongside Barnes’s essays.

Also featured in the photographs is a promotional bookmark that was inserted into this copy of the book.

Café au Lait | Cross Channel (Editura Nemira, 2005; Romanian)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Café au Lait | Cross Channel. Bucureşti: Editura Nemira, 2005. Pp. 249 [250] + [6]. 17.8 x 10.7 cm. Translated by Mihai Moroiu. ISBN: 9789735697846. (Romanian).

Café au lait is the Roman translation of Julian Barnes’s short story collection Cross Channel. Story titles in this edition include: Ermitaj | Interferențe | Nod de cale ferată | Pepene galben | Experiment | Veșnic | Gnossienne | Dragoni | Brambilla | Tunel

Arthur & George (Vintage Canada, 2012)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes .Arthur & George. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2012. Pp. 430 + [6]. 20.3 x 13.1 cm. ISBN: 9780307363220.

In 2012, Random House Canada’s three paperback divisions (Anchor Canada, Vintage Canada, and Emblem Editions) joined efforts to publish a series of colorful paperback books. Julian Barnes’s Arthur & George was selected for the series and published in blue with text edges tinted blue to match, as pictured.

You may read more about the series and view images of books on display at “Random House of Canada Taps into Trend of Books Doubling as Decor” (Quill & Quire, 18 October 2012).