Notes on this item: England, England Promotional Puzzle. Jonathan Cape, 1998.
Jonathan Cape created this puzzle to promote Julian Barnes’s novel England, England. The four puzzle pieces feature dust jacket art on one side and promotional text on the reverse. The number of puzzles produced is currently unknown.
Barnes mailed the puzzle to Rolland Comstock, a well-known book collector who specialized in contemporary British authors, including Barnes, Martin Amis, Jim Crace, and others. Comstock was known to travel great distances to attend author readings and would regularly arrive with a suitcase full of books to be signed. The note enclosed with the promotional puzzle is dated 19 July 1999, and states:
Dear Rolland,
I remember promising you this a couple of months ago. Hope you can solve it! Nice seeing you in D.C.
Best wishes,
Julian