The Only Story (Alfred A. Knopf, 2018)


Notes on this edition: First edition – New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. $25.95. This copy inscribed by Julian Barnes. 

Descriptive Bibliography: 

Title Page: THE ONLY STORY | JULIAN BARNES | [ Alfred A. Knopf device] | ALFRED A. KNOPF | New York | 2018

Copyright Page: THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK | PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF | Copyright © 2018 by Julian Barnes | All rights reserved. Published in the United States by | Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. | Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape, | an imprint of Penguin Random House Ltd., London, in 2018. | www.aaknopf.com | Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered | trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data | Names: Barnes, Julian, author. | Title: The only story / by Julian Barnes. | Description: First American edition. [|] New York : | Knopf, 2018. [|] “This is a Borzoi book.” | Identifiers: LCCN 2017047844 [|] ISBN 9780525521211 | (hardcover) [|] ISBN 9780525521297 (ebook) | Subjects: LCSH: Man-woman relationships—Fiction. [|] Psychological | fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Literary. [|] FICTION / Coming of | Age. [|] FICTION / Psychological. [|] GSAFD: Bildungsromans. | Classification: LCC PR6052.A6657 O55 2018 [|] DDC 823/.914—dc23 | LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2017047844 | Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson | MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | First United States Edition

Collation: 19.0 x 13.3 cm. Pp. [only odd pages numbered] [i-x] [1-4] 5-99 [100-104] 105-187 [188-192] 193-253 [254-262]. [i]: blank. [ii]: ‘Also by Julian Barnes | FICTION | Metroland | Before She Met Me | Flaubert’s Parrot | Staring at the Sun | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters | Talking it Over | The Porcupine | Cross Channel | England, England | Love, Etc. | The Lemon Table | Arthur & George | Pulse | The Sense of an Ending | The Noise of Time | NONFICTION | Letters from London 1990–1995 | Something to Declare | The Pedant in the Kitchen | Nothing to Be Frightened Of | Through the Window | Levels of Life | Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art | TRANSLATION | In the Land of Pain | by Alphonse Daudet’. [iii]: ‘THE ONLY STORY’. [iv]: blank. [v]: title page. [vi]: copyright page. [vii]: ‘to Hermione’. [viii]: blank. [ix]: ‘Novel: A small tale, generally of love. | –Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of | the English Language (1755)’. [x]: blank. [1]: ‘ONE’. [2]: blank. 3-[100]: text. [101]: ‘TWO’. [102]: blank. [103]-[188]: text. [189]: ‘THREE’. [190]: blank. [191]-[254]: text. [255-256]: blank. [257]: [‘A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR’]. [258]: blank. [259]: [‘A NOTE ON THE TYPE’]. [260-262]: blank.

General description: Binding 19.7 x 14.0 cm. Black paper boards stamped in gold lettering to spine. Light cream endpapers. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Back cover of dust jacket features an author photograph by Urszula Soltys.


Alfred A. Knopf also sold copies with signed, tipped-in pages, as shown below:

The Noise of Time (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016)


Notes on this edition: First edition – New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. $25.95. This example features a tipped-in page signed by Julian Barnes [not accounted for in the collation below]. An unspecified number were distributed with the signature page directly from the publisher. 

Descriptive Bibliography:

Title Page: THE NOISE OF TIME | Julian Barnes | [Random House Canada Alfred A. Knopf device] | ALFRED A. KNOPF  NEW YORK 2016

Copyright Page: THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK | PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF | Copyright © 2016 by Julian Barnes | All rights reserved. | Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, | a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. Originally | published in hardcover in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape, an imprint of | Vintage Publishing, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., London. | www.aaknopf.com | Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks | of Penguin Random House LLC. | Grateful acknowledgment is made to Marion Boyars Publishers for permission | to reprint an excerpt of “A Career” from Early Poems by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, | translated by George Reavey. Reprinted by permission of Marion Boyars | Publishers. | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data | Names: Barnes, Julian, author. | Title: The noise of time / Julian Barnes. | Description: First American edition. [|] New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. | Identifiers: LCCN 2015043444 (print) [|] LCCN 2015048211 (ebook) [|] | ISBN 9781101947241 (hardcover) [|] ISBN 9781101971185 (softcover) [|] | ISBN 9781101947258 (ebook) | Subjects: LCSH: Shostakovich, Dmitriæi Dmitrievich, 1906-1975—Fiction. [|] | Composers—Soviet Union—Fiction. [|] Nationalism and communism—Fiction. [|] | Communism and society—History—20th century—Fiction. [|] Soviet Union— | Politics and government—20th century—Fiction. [|] BISAC: FICTION / | Literary. [|] FICTION / Biographical. [|] FICTION / Historical. [|] | GSAFD: Biographical fiction. [|] Historical fiction. | Classification: LCC PR6052.A6657 N65 2016 (print) [|] | LCC PR6052.A6657 (ebook) [|] DDC 823/.914PR6052.A6657 N65 2016dc23 | LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015043444 | Jacket image: Dmitri Shostakovich by Iosiph Alexandrovich Serebryany. | State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. © culture-images / Lebrecht | Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson | Manufactured in the United States of America | First United States Edition

Collation: 18.9 x 13.0 cm. Pp. [-ii-ix] x-xi [xii] [1-3] 4-60 [61-63] 64-120 [121-123] 124-197 [198-199] 200-201 [202-210]. [-i]: blank. [-ii]: ‘ALSO BY JULIAN BARNES | FICTION | Metroland | Before She Met Me | Flaubert’s Parrot | Staring at the Sun | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters | Talking It Over | The Porcupine | Cross Channel | England, England | Love, Etc. | The Lemon Table | Arthur & George | Pulse | The Sense of an Ending | NON-FICTION | Letters from London 1990–1995 | Something to Declare | The Pedant in the Kitchen | Nothing to Be Frightened Of | Levels of Life | Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art | TRANSLATION | In the Land of Pain by Alphonse Daudet’.[i]: ‘THE NOISE OF TIME’. [ii]: blank. [iii]: title page. [iv]: copyright page. [v]: ‘for Pat’. [vi]: blank. [vii]: ‘One to hear | One to remember | And one to drink. | —traditional’. [viii]: blank. [ix]-xi: text. [xii]: blank. [1]: ‘[ ONE ] | On the Landing. [2]: blank. [3]-60: text. [61]: ‘[ TWO ] | On the Plane’. [62]: blank. [63]-120: text. [121]: ‘[ THREE ] | In the Car’. [122]: blank. [123]-197: text. [198]: blank. [199]-201: [‘Author’s note’]. [202]: blank. [203]: [‘A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR’]. [204]: blank. [205]: [‘A NOTE ON THE TYPE’]. [206-210]: blank.

General description: Binding 19.7 x 14.0 cm. Light grey, smooth paper boards with light green quarter-paper at spine stamped in gold. White endpapers. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Back flap of dust jacket features an author photograph by Alan Edwards.

Promotional Placard | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (Alfred A. Knopf, 1989)


Notes on this item: Promotional placard advertising Julian Barnes’s novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (43 x 33 cm.).

This advertisement was intended to stand on display in a book store upon the publication of the novel by Alfred A. Knopf in 1989. The advertisement was acquired by a book store employee who kept it in storage for 20+ years before selling it.

Julian Barnes states that he used to have a copy of this placard in his study, but it remains unclear exactly how many placards were produced for promotional purposes.

The Best of Frank O’Connor | Uncorrected Proof (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009; Everyman’s Library #321)


Notes on this edition: Frank O’Connor. The Best of Frank O’Connor. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Pp. xxxviii, 673 + [1]. 20.6 x 12.3 cm.

Uncorrected Proof in orange paper covers. Edited and with an introduction by Julian Barnes pp. ix-xi. Part of the Everyman’s Library series, no. 321.

The Reef | Edith Wharton (Everyman’s Library, 1996; US Edition)


Notes on this edition: Edith Wharton. The Reef. New York: Everyman’s Library / Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. Pp. 290 + [6]. 21 x 13.1 cm. ISBN: 0679447245.

Julian Barnes wrote the introduction to volume by Edith Wharton (pp. ix-xviii). Part of the Everyman’s Library series, no. 201. Republished in Barnes’s collection of essays Through the Window.

This edition is paginated the same as the U.K. edition distributed by Random House, though the dust jackets are different.

The Borzoi Reader (Alfred A. Knopf, Spring 2001)


Notes on this edition: The Borzoi Reader. Alfred A. Knopf, Spring 2001. Complimentary promotional item containing information and an excerpt from Julian Barnes’s novel Love, etc. published by Alfred A. Knopf. Barnes’s excerpt appears on pages 22-23. Also includes quote from Barnes’s editor at Knopf Gary Fisketjon.

England, England | Uncorrected Proof (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999)


Notes on this edition: England, England. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

Uncorrected Proof in blue wraps with black lettering. Publication information and the statement, ‘THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED PROOF’ on bottom of upper panel. (21.5 x 14 cm).

Publication date on the front cover states, ‘    May 1999’.


Another copy of this proof was issued with promotional material stapled inside both the front and back covers. The publication date on the cover includes the day written in ink as ’10 May 1999′, as pictured.

Nothing to Be Frightened Of (Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)


Notes on this edition: First edition – New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. $24.95. 

Descriptive Bibliography:

Title Page: Nothing | to Be | Frightened Of | [decorative rule] | Julian Barnes | [Knopf device] | ALFRED A. KNOPF, NEW YORK, 2008

Copyright Page: THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK | PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF | Copyright © 2008 by Julian Barnes | All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, | a division of Random House, Inc., New York. | www.aaknopf.com | Originally published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape, an imprint of | The Random House Group Limited, London. | A portion of this book appeared in The New Yorker | Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of | Random House, Inc. | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data | Barnes, Julian. | Nothing to be frightened of / Julian Barnes.—1st American ed. | p.  cm. | | ISBN 978-0-307-26963-8 | 1. Barnes, Julian—Psychology. 2. Authors, English—20th century— | Biography. 3. Fear of death. 4. Barnes, Julian—Philosophy. | 5. Barnes, Julian—Religion. 6. Barnes, Julian—Childhood and youth. | 7. Barnes, Julian—Family. I. Title. | PR6052.A6657Z46 2008 823’.914B—dc22 2008019603 | Manufactured in the United States of America | First United States Edition

Collation: 21.2 x 14.0 cm. Pp. [i-viii, 1-4] 5-[244] [beginning with page 5, all odd pages are numbered, while all even pages are unnumbered] [245-248]. [i]: blank. [ii]: ‘BY THE SAME AUTHOR | FICTION | Arthur & George | The Lemon Table | Love, etc. | England, England | Cross Channel | The Porcupine | Talking It Over |  A History of the World in 10½ Chapters | Staring at the Sun | Flaubert’s Parrot | Before She Met Me | Metroland | NONFICTION | The Pedant in the Kitchen | Something to Declare | Letters From London, 1990–1995 | TRANSLATION | In the Land of Pain | by Alphonse Daudet’. [iii]: ‘NOTHING | to Be | Frightened Of’. [iv]: blank. [v]: title page. [vi]: copyright page. [vii]: ‘to P.’. [viii]: blank. [1]: ‘Nothing | to Be | Frightened Of’. [2]: blank. [3-4]: text. 5-[244]: text. [245-246]: blank. [247]: ‘A NOTE ON THE TYPE | Pierre SImon Fournier le jeune, who designed the type used | in this book, was both an originator and a collector of types. | His types are old style in character and sharply cut. In 1764 | and 1766 he published his Manual typographique, a treatise on | the history of French types and printing, and on what many | consider his most important contribution to typography— | the measurement of type by the point system. | Composed by Stratford Publishing Services | Brattleboro, Vermont | Printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley | Harrisonburg, Virginia | Designed by M. Kristen Bearse’. [248]: blank.  

General description: Binding 22.0 x 14.7 cm. Light blue paper boards with grey quarter-cloth spine stamped in silver lettering. White endpapers. The text block has a ‘deckled’ or uncut fore edge. Cover features a photograph of Julian Barnes by Paul Stuart. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Bottom of back flap dates the dust jacket as ‘9/2008’.

Additional Printings are documented below:

“Interference” | Knopf Short Story Sampler, Spring 1996


Notes on this edition: Julian Barnes. “Interference.” Knopf Short Story Sampler, Spring 1996. Pp. 85 + [7]. 21.2 x 13.9 cm.

This sampler includes a mock-up of the title page for Barnes’s short story collection Cross Channel. The story itself appears on pp. 5-26.

Other books included in this sampler:

  • The Stupefaction / Diane Williams
  • Cruising Paradise / Sam Shepard
  • Nightwork / Christine Schutt
  • Battling against Castro / Jim Shepard

Cross Channel (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996)


Notes on this edition: First American edition – New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. $21.00.

Descriptive Bibliography:

Title Page: CROSS CHANNEL | [decorative rule] | Julian Barnes | Alfred A. Knopf  [Knopf device] New York  1996

Copyright Page: THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK | PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC. | Copyright © 1996 by Julian Barnes | All rights reserved under International and Pan-American | Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by | Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Distributed by | Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published | in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape, London. | “Interference,” “Experiment,” and “Evermore” were | originally published in The New Yorker. “Gnossienne” and | “Dragons” were originally published in Granta. | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data | Barnes, Julian. | Cross channel / Julian Barnes.—1st American ed. | p.  cm. | ISBN 0-679-44691-5 | I. British—Travel—France—History—Fiction. I. Title. | PR6052.A6657C76 1996  95-44427 | 823’.914—dc20  CIP | Manufactured in the United States of America | FIRST AMERICAN EDITION

Collation: 18.8 x 13.3 cm. Pp. [i-x, 1-2] 3-20 [21-22] 23-42 [43-44] 45-62 [63-64] 65-87 [88-90] 91-111 [112-114] 115-128 [129-130] 131-148 [149-150] 151-164 [165-166] 167-188 [189-190] 191-211 [212-214]. [i]: blank. [ii]: ‘ALSO BY JULIAN BARNES | Metroland | Before She Met Me | Flaubert’s Parrot | Staring at the Sun | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters | Talking It Over | The Porcupine | Letters from London 1990-1995’. [iii]: ‘CROSS CHANNEL | [decorative rule]’. [iv]: blank. [v]: title page. [vi]: copyright page. [vii]: ‘TO PAT’. [viii]: blank. [ix]: contents. [x]: blank. [1]: ‘INTERFERENCE | [decorative rule]’. [2]: blank. 3-20: text. [21]: ‘JUNCTION | [decorative rule]’. [22]: blank. 23-42: text. [43]: ‘EXPERIMENT | [decorative rule]’. [44]: blank. 45-62: text. [63]: ‘MELON | [decorative rule]’. [64]: blank. 65-87: text. [88]: blank. [89]: ‘EVERMORE | [decorative rule]’. [90]: blank. 91-111: text. [112]: blank. [113]: ‘GNOSSIENNE | [decorative rule]’. [114]: blank. 115-128: text. [129]: ‘DRAGONS | [decorative rule]’. [130]: blank. 131-148: text. [149]: ‘BRAMBILLA | [decorative rule]’. [150]: blank. 151-164: text. [165]: ‘HERMITAGE | [decorative rule]’. [166]: blank. 167-188: text. [189]: ‘TUNNEL | [decorative rule]’. [190]: blank. 191-211: text. [212-214]: blank.

General description: Binding 19.7 x 13.8 cm. Cream boards, dark green quarter board gold blocked on spine. White endpapers. Dust jacket in cream, brown, and green. Lettering is white on upper panel and black on lower panel.  Photo titled “Saint-Valéry, 1855” by Édouard Baldus on upper panel. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Photograph of the author by Jillian Edelstein located on lower panel.


“Review Copy”: Some review copies of Julian Barnes’s Cross Channel feature “Review Copy” stamped to the front end page, as shown in the photos above.