Ryan Roberts – författare

An exploration of the many pseudonyms of Julian Barnes, this book goes beyond the title page to uncover the history and development of Barnes as a writer as he experimented with the complexities of authorship. Based on decades of personal correspondence and extensive access to Barnes’s private papers, scrapbooks, and book collection, author Ryan Roberts provides a close examination of Barnes’s numerous pseudonyms, many of which have remained unidentified until now: the crime writer Dan Kavanagh; literary critic Edward Pygge; award-winning restaurant reviewer Basil Seal; and many others, including his guises as journalists in his early career.Forensic and compelling, The Pseudonyms of Julian Barnes traces Barnes’s use of pseudonyms and how they evolved from a means of money-making and critiquing his peers, to eventually becoming fully realized authorial characters with unique personalities. An off-the-page kind of character creation, with his pseudonyms Barnes invented distinct authorial personas that allowed him to develop his craft, establish his own literary identity and define his views about authorship. Drawn from close textual analysis of Barnes’s oeuvre (including his juvenilia and early journalistic efforts) and biographical and archival research, Ryan Roberts illustrates how Barnes’s pseudonyms influenced his writing style, his artistic choices and thematic explorations throughout his career.With theoretical reflections on notions of authorship and the practice of using pseudonyms, discussions of British literary cultures from 1960s and 1970s and offering a behind-the-scenes look at literary journalism and the functioning of major publications such as The New Review and The New Statesman, the book injects rich, fresh insights into the study of one of Britain’s contemporary literary titans.

Conversations with Julian Barnes collects eighteen interviews, conducted over nearly three decades, by journalists and correspondents throughout the world with the author (b. 1946) of such highly praised novels as Flaubert's Parrot and Arthur & George. The interviews collectively address the entirety of Julian Barnes's varied works and provide readers the most vivid portrait yet of contexts and influences behind his ten novels, his short stories, and his essays. The interviews focus not only on the author's fiction but also on his essays, translations, and pseudonymous writings. Barnes's evolving understanding of the themes developed in his works (history, truth, love, art, and death), his views on the art of the writing process, and the role of authors in contemporary society are also discussed at length.

Conversations with Ian McEwan collects sixteen interviews, conducted over three decades, with the British author of such highly praised novels as Enduring Love, Atonement, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach. McEwan (b. 1948) discusses his views on authorship, the writing process, and major themes found in his fiction, but he also expands upon his interests in music, film, global politics, the sciences, and the state of literature in contemporary society.McEwan's candid and forthcoming discussions with notable contemporary writers---Martin Amis, Zadie Smith, Ian Hamilton, David Remnick, and Stephen Pinker---provide readers with the most in-depth portrait available of the author and his works.Readers will find McEwan to be just as engaging, humorous, and intelligent as his writings suggest. The volume includes interviews from British, Spanish, French, and American sources, two interviews previously available only in audio format, and a new interview conducted with the book's editor.

Conversations with Ian McEwan collects sixteen interviews, conducted over three decades, with the British author of such highly praised novels as Enduring Love, Atonement, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach. McEwan (b. 1948) discusses his views on authorship, the writing process, and major themes found in his fiction, but he also expands upon his interests in music, film, global politics, the sciences, and the state of literature in contemporary society.McEwan's candid and forthcoming discussions with notable contemporary writers---Martin Amis, Zadie Smith, Ian Hamilton, David Remnick, and Stephen Pinker---provide readers with the most in-depth portrait available of the author and his works.Readers will find McEwan to be just as engaging, humorous, and intelligent as his writings suggest. The volume includes interviews from British, Spanish, French, and American sources, two interviews previously available only in audio format, and a new interview conducted with the book's editor.