England, England

England, England

First edition cover
Author	Julian Barnes
Cover artist	Bill Gregory
Genre	Satire, farce
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Publication date	27 August 1998
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	272
ISBN	0-224-05275-6

England, England is a satirical postmodern novel by Julian Barnes, published and shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1998. While researchers have also pointed out the novel's characteristic dystopian and farcical elements, Barnes himself described the novel as a "semi-farce".

England, England broaches the idea of replicating England in a theme park on the Isle of Wight. It calls into question ideas of national identity, invented traditions, the creations of myths and the authenticity of history and memory.

Plot summary

England, England is divided into three parts entitled "England", "England, England" and "Anglia". The first part focuses on the protagonist Martha Cochrane and her childhood memories. Growing up in the surrounding of the English countryside, her peaceful childhood is disrupted when her father leaves the family. Martha's memories of her father are closely related to playing a Counties of England jigsaw puzzle with him.

The second part, "England, England", is set in the near future. Martha is now in her forties and is employed by the entrepreneur Sir Jack Pitman for a megalomaniacal project: Sir Jack aims to turn the Isle of Wight into a gigantic theme park which contains everything that people, especially tourists, consider to be quintessentially English, selected according to what Sir Jack himself approves of. The theme park − called "England, England" − thus becomes a replica of England's best known historical buildings, figures and sites. Popular English tourist attractions and icons of "Englishness" are crammed together to be easily accessible without having to travel the whole of "real" England.

While working on the set-up of the project, Martha starts an affair with one of her colleagues, Paul Harrison. They discover Sir Jack's adult baby fetish and blackmail him with incriminating evidence when Sir Jack wants to dismiss Martha. She thus becomes CEO of the Island project, which turns out to be a highly popular tourist attraction. As a consequence of the huge success, "England, England" becomes an independent state and part of the European Union, while the real, "Old England" suffers a severe decline and increasingly falls into international irrelevance. After a major scandal in the theme park, however, Martha is eventually expelled from the island.

The third part of the novel, "Anglia", is set decades later and depicts Martha who has returned to a village in Old England after many years of wandering abroad. The original nation has regressed into a vastly de-populated, agrarian and pre-industrial state without any international political influence, while "England, England" continues to prosper.

Reception

Upon release, England, England was generally well-received among British press. The Daily Telegraph reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": Sunday Times review under "Love It" and Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, and TLS reviews under "Pretty Good" and Times, Mail On Sunday, Spectator, and Literary Review review under "Ok". Globally, Complete Review saying on the consensus "No consensus -- most think the elegant first and third sections are excellent, but opinions vary widely regarding the large middle portion. Most think the three parts are not made to fit together well, and many don't like Barnes' efforts at satire (though others find it hilarious)".

Themes

In England, England, the narrative goes beyond the twin plots of Pitman and Cochrane, delving into profound ideas that echo the criticisms of society articulated by 20th-century French philosophers. A key reference is Jean Baudrillard's L'échange symbolique et la mort (1976), which argues that reality has been overtaken by 'simulacra' – representations of the original. In a world where technology can replicate virtually everything, including art and humans, these replicas often acquire a higher status than the originals due to their safety, ease of use, cost-effectiveness, ubiquity, and predictability.

Pitman's project aims to encapsulate the essence of England on an island, creating a version that epitomizes everything truly English for the world to see and monetize. He remains unfazed as the real England deteriorates. The intertwined plots of Martha Cochrane's rise and fall, and the project's launch and success, highlight her professional skills and emotional inclinations from childhood. Martha, despite being ruthless in her career, retains the ability to listen to her heart, particularly in her relationship with Paul Harrison, the 'Ideas Catcher,' which helps her cope with old age in rural Anglia.

Barnes' characters subvert long-standing English customs and traditions, allowing him to critically assess these myths. For simplification, the novel alters English folklore, customs, legends, and historical facts to fit the Project's purpose. History is rewritten and bowdlerized to ensure family-friendly content, political correctness, and avoidance of sexual harassment, making the island's attractions comprehensible and enjoyable for paying visitors.

The attractions of England, England enjoy popularity among tourists, who are fascinated by recreated London fog, re-enactments of the Battle of Britain, and the royal family's scripted appearances. However, the over-identification of actors with their roles leads to unintended consequences, such as Robin Hood's gang hunting their food, smugglers engaging in real smuggling, and the 'Samuel Johnson Dining Experience' failing due to the character's rudeness to guests.

This thematic exploration underscores the novel's critique of the commodification of culture and heritage, the manipulation of history, and the complex interplay between reality and representation in a consumerist society.

References

• Guignery, Vanessa (2006). The Fiction of Julian Barnes. A reader's guide to essential criticism. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Henke, Christoph (2003). "Remembering Selves, Constructing Selves: Memory and Identity in Contemporary British Fiction". Journal for the Study of British Cultures 10(1), 77–100.
• "He's turned towards Python". (30 August 1998). The Observer.
• Holmes, Frederick M. (2009). Julian Barnes. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Korte, Barbara (2002). "Julian Barnes' England, England: Tourism as a Critique of Postmodernism". In H. Berghoff, C. Harvie, B. Korte, & R. Schneider (Eds.), The Making of Modern Tourism: The Cultural History of the British Experience, 1600–2000, pp. 285–303. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Mergenthal, Silvia (2003). A Fast-Forward Version of England. Constructions of Englishness in Contemporary Fiction. Heidelberg: Winter.
• Nünning, Vera (2001). "The Invention of Cultural Traditions: The Construction and Deconstruction of Englishness and Authenticity in Julian Barnes' England, England". 1–28. The article is available on Julian Barnes' website.

External links

• Julian Barnes website (England, England): https://web.archive.org/web/20060324151156/http://www.julianbarnes.com/bib/england.html, with extensive bibliography of translations and scholarly articles.