BARNES, Julian. Metroland. London: Jonathan Cape. 1980.
8vo. Publisher’s grey cloth lettered in silver to spine, typographic dust jacket priced £4.95 to front flap; pp. 176; a fine copy, in like jacket.
First edition, first printing, signed by the author; a lovely copy.
Metroland, Barnes’ debut novel, is the first-person account of Christopher Lloyd and his experiences growing up in and commuting to and from the suburbs of London (Barnes' Metroland is also, of course, Betjeman's Metro-land), of his student years in Paris, and the early years of married life. A bitter-sweet tale of friendship, Francophilia and young love; of intellectual high-jinks and inevitable disappointment, the book anticipates many of the themes Barnes went on to explore in later novels.
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