Папагалът на Флобер | Flaubert’s Parrot (Narodna Kultura, 1990; Bulgarian)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Папагалът на Флобер | Flaubert’s Parrot. Sofia: Narodna Kultura, 1990. Pp. 251 [252] + [4]. 16 x 11.5 cm. Translated by Dimitrina Kondeva. (Bulgarian).

To support the Bulgarian translation of Flaubert’s Parrot, Barnes visited the country and later wrote about his experiences for the London Review of Books [Barnes, Julian. “Candles for the Living.” LRB, vol. 12, no. 22 (22 November 1990): 6-7.]

While in Bulgaria, Barnes met his translator Dimitrina Kondeva and they soon built a friendship. Barnes wrote to Kondeva for feedback and insights into a new novel he was writing, The Porcupine, which centered on a fictional country similar to Bulgaria.

Als sie mich noch nicht kannte | Before She Met Me (Haffmans Verlag, 1988; German)


Notes on this edition: Als sie mich noch nicht kannte | Before She Met Me. Zürich: Haffmans Verlag, 1988. Pp. 247 [248]. 18.4 x 11.1 cm. Translated by Michael Walter. (German).

The dust jacket of the German translation of Barnes’s second novel Before She Met Me features an illustration by Volker Kriegel. Also in 1988, Bloomsbury published Kriegel’s book The Truth about Dogs, a collection of Kriegel’s humorous drawings of dogs. Julian Barnes wrote an introduction for the book.

Flaubert’s Parrot (McGraw-Hill, 1985)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Flaubert’s Parrot. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985. Pp. 216. 17.1 x 10.3 cm. ISBN: 0070037485. 

Following the critical success of Julian Barnes’s novel Flaubert’s Parrot, McGraw-Hill published a series of small-format paperbacks to promote his backlist. After releasing Flaubert’s Parrot in paperback (1985), McGraw-Hill issued Barnes’s second novel Before She Met Me (1986), followed by Metroland (1987).

Staring at the Sun (London Limited Editions, 1986)


Notes on this edition: The London Limited Edition of Staring at the Sun is the first limited edition produced of Julian Barnes’s works. Limited to 150 copies, the text is identical to the first U.K. edition published by Jonathan Cape, except for some preliminary pages, including the limitation signature page.

Descriptive Bibliography: First Limited edition – London: London Limited Editions, 1986. £25.00. 150 copies.

Title Page: As in the first edition hardback published by Jonathan Cape.

Copyright Page: As in the first edition hardback published by Jonathan Cape.

Collation: 21.5 x 13.7 cm. Text identical to the first Jonathan Cape edition, except the front page [i-ii] has been cut and two new sheets tipped in. Sheet One (front): ‘JULIAN BARNES | STARING AT | THE SUN | [asterisk] | LONDON | LIMITED | EDITIONS’. (verso): blank. Sheet Two (front): ‘One of 150 numbered copies of the | First Edition of | Staring at the Sun | signed by the author and | specially bound. | No. [hand numbered] | [author signature]’. (verso): blank.

General description: Binding 22.2 x 14 cm. Marble paper over boards, dark brown cloth quarter binding with glassine dustwrapper. White endpapers.

Cross Channel | Uncorrected Proof (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Pp. 211 + [1]. 19.1 x 13.3 cm.

Uncorrected Proof of the U.S. edition of Cross Channel published by Alfred A. Knopf. Bound in cream paper wraps with black lettering. Publication information and the statement, ‘THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED PROOF’ on bottom of upper panel.

The publisher stapled three promotional items to the inside front cover, including two sheets of paper featuring review blurbs for Talking It OverFlaubert’s Parrot, and A History of the World in 10½ Chapters, and a sample dust jacket for the first U.S. edition, as pictured.

Cross Channel | Uncorrected Proof (Random House Canada, 1996)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. Random House Canada, 1996. Pp. 211 + [1]. 19.1 x 13.3 cm.

The Random House Canada uncorrected proof of Julian Barnes’s Cross Channel appears nearly identical to the American uncorrected proof issued by Alfred A. Knopf. The text block is, in fact, identical, as the Canadian proof’s title page lists the publisher as “Alfred A. Knopf”. The two proof editions differ in their paper covers, however, with the Canadian proof listing the publisher as “Random House Canada”. Both proofs list the publication date as “25 March 1996”.

Metrolandia | Metroland (Anagrama, 2000; Spanish)


Notes on this edition: Metrolandia | Metroland. Anagrama, 2000. Pp. 236 + [4]. 19.7 x 13 cm. Translated by Enrique Juncosa. ISBN: 8433931636. (Spanish).

Editorial Anagrama publishes Spanish translations of Julian Barnes’s works. This second edition of Metroland was published in June 2000 and features a cover made up of images from the film adaptation released in 1997. Anagrama published the original Spanish translation in 1989. Paper cover, as shown.

Before She Met Me Uncorrected Proof (Jonathan Cape, 1982)


Notes on this edition: Uncorrected Proof of Julian Barnes’s second literary novel Before She Met Me bound in red wraps with black lettering. Scheduled publication date of 15th April 1982. (19.5 x 14.3 cm).

Before She Met Me (Jonathan Cape, 1991)


Notes on this edition: In 1991, Jonathan Cape reissued Julian Barnes’s novel Before She Met Me in hardback format. The first edition hardback was originally published in 1982, and because Cape did not make changes to the reissued book outside of small changes to the title page, copyright page, and dust jacket, the reissue may be classified technically as as a first edition, second printing.

Cross Channel | Uncorrected Galley Proof (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996; Large Format)


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. Cross Channel. Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. 27.9 x 21.5 cm.

Marked as an “Uncorrected Proof”, this galley proof of Julian Barnes’s Cross Channel was intended for in-house use and precedes the standard uncorrected proof normally issued to reviewers. The galley features a white paper cover with black lettering. Pages are reproduced two per sheet with each text line numbered, as pictured in the example images.

Note: Full inscription has been edited for privacy.