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A History of the World in 10½ Chapters
'History isn't what happened. History is just what historians tell us. There was a pattern, a plan, a movement, expansion, the march of democracy; it is a tapestry, a flow of events, a complex narrative, connected, explicable. One good story leads to another.'
It's a hilariously revisionist account of Noah's ark, narrated by a passenger who doesn't appear in Genesis. It's a sneak preview of heaven. It encompasses the stories of a cruise ship hijacked by terrorists and of woodworms tried for blasphemy in sixteenth-century France. It explores the relationship of fact to fabulation and the antagonism between history and love. In short, A History of the World in 10½ Chapters is a grandly ambitious and inventive work of fiction, in the traditions of Joyce and Calvino, from the author of the widely acclaimed Flaubert's Parrot.
"Frequently brilliant, funny, thoughtful, iconoclastic and a delight to read." -Salman Rushdie, Observer
EDITIONS & TRANSLATIONS
NOTE: When possible, editions are linked to entries in the online Julian Barnes Bibliography. These entries feature multiple images of the book and additional bibliographic details.
English Editions
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. London: Jonathan Cape, 1989. [Uncorrected proof (red / white)].
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989.
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Toronto: Random House of Canada, 1989.
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. London: Jonathan Cape, 1989. The Reader's Collection. Pp.28
[Reprinted the first chapter of the novel. "This free sample chapter is one of the four specially printed for the Summer Reader's Collection"]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Oxford: ISIS, 1990 [Large Print]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. London: Picador, 1990; Picador, 1990 [Rejacketed]; Picador, 2005 [Rejacketed].
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. New York: Vintage International, 1990.
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Toronto: Vintage Books, 1990; Other printings: Vintage Books, 2009; Vintage Books, 2013.
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Oxford: Clio, 1990.
[ISIS large print]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. [Cambridge Literature Series. Edited by Ron Middleton. Includes study questions for educators and students.]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Hamburg: Petersens, 2001.
Flaubert’s Parrot | A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. [Everyman's Library edition]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Vintage, 2016.
Audio Editions
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Naxos AudioBooks, 2007: Read by Alex Jennings.
[Unabridged, 10 hours, 56 minutes]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Random Century Audiobooks, 1992: Read by Alfred Molina
[Abridged. 2 cassettes (approx. 3 hours)]
A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Isis Audio Books, 1990: Read by Tony Robinson
[Unabridged. 8 cassettes (10 hours, 25 minutes)]
Translated Editions
Bulgarian - Istoria na sveta v 10 1/2 glavi. Sofia: Obsidian Press, 2001. Translated by Dimitrina Kondeva and Zornitsa Hristova. Other edition: Obsidian Press, 2005.
Catalan - Història del món en deu capítols i mig. Enciclopèdia Catalana / Edicions Proa, 1997. Translated by Marta Bes Oliva.
Chinese - 10½章世界史. Nanjing: 译林出版社 | Yilin Press, 2002; Yilin Press, 2010; Yilin, 2015; Yilin Press, 2021. Translated by 林本椿 (Lin Benchun) and 宋东升 (Song Dongsheng).
Croation - Povijest svijeta u 10 i 1/2 poglavlja. Zagreb: CELEBER, 2004. Translated by Lada Silađin.
Czech - Historie sveta v 10½ kapitolách. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny (NLN), 1994. Translated by Eva Klimentová.
Danish - En verdens historie i 10 ½ kapitel. København: Tiderne Skifter, 1990. Translated by Henning Juul Madsen. Other editions: Gyldendals Bogklubber, 1990; Tiderne Skifter, 1996.
Dutch - Een geschiedenis van de wereld in 10½ hoofdstuk. Amsterdam: Uitgeverij de Arbeiderspers, 1991. Translated by Else Hoog. Other editions: Olympus, 2013; Atlas, 2022.
Estonian - Maailma ajalugu 10½ peatükis. Tallinn: Hotger, 2003. Translated by Tõnis Leemets.
Finnish - 10½ lukua maailman-historiaa. Porvoo Helsinki Juva: WSOY, 1990. Translated by Kristiina Drews. Other edition: WSOY, 1995.
French - Une histoire du monde en 10 chapitres et demi. Paris: Nouveau Cabinet Cosmopolite Stock, 1990. Translated by Michel Courtois-Fourcy. Other editions: Stock, 1992; Collection Bibliothéque étrangère, Mercure de France, 2011; Mercure de France/Folio, 2011; Mercure de France/Folio, 2013.
Georgian - მსოფლიოს ისტორია 10½ კარად. Tbilisi: Diogene, 2016. Translated by გია ჭუმბურიძემ (Gia Chumburidze).
German - Eine geschichte der welt in 10½ kapiteln. Zürich: Haffmans Verlag, 1990. Translated by Gertraude Krueger. Other editions: München: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1990; Frankfurt am Main, Wien: Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1992 [Book Club]; Zürich: Haffmans, 1992; München: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1993; München: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, 1994; btb, 2009; Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 2015.
Greek - storia tou kosmou se 10½ kephalaia. Ekdoseis Psichogios, 1997. Translated by Demosthenes Kourtovik. Other editions: Ιστορία του κόσμου σε 10 1/2 κεφάλαια. Athens: Metaixmio, 2021. Translated by Θωμάς Σκάσσης [Thomas Skassis].
Hebrew - Toldot ha-olam be-10 1/2 perakim. Tel-Aviv: Zmora-Bitan, 1991. Translated by David Shaham.
Hungarian - A világ története 10 és ½ fejezetben. Budapest: Ulpius-ház, 2002. Translated by Feig András.
Italian - Una storia del mondo in 10 capitoli e ½. Milano: RCS Rizzoli, 1990. Translated by Riccardo Mainardi. Other editions: Torino: Einaudi, 1997; Einaudi, 2013.
Japanese - Jukkanibunnoissho de kakareta sekai no rekish. Tokyo: Hakusui-Sha, 1991. Translated by Ai Tanji and Toshie Tanji. Other edition: Tokyo: 白水社 [Hakusuisha], 1995.
Korean - 10½장으로 쓴 세계 역사. Seoul: Dong Yeun Publishing, 1993; Other editions: 10½장으로 쓴 세계 역사. 파주 [Paju]: 열린책들 [Open Books], 2006. Translated by 신재실 [Chae-sil Sin]
Latvian - Pasaules vēsture desmit ar pus nodaļās. Riga, Latvia: Izdevnieciba AGB, 2005. Translated by Karīna Tillberga.
Polish - Historia swiata w dziesieciu i pól rozdzialach. Katowice: Edytor, 1994. Translated by Tomasz Bieroi.
Portuguese - A História do Mundo em 10 Capítulos e ½. Lisboa: Quetzal Editores, 1990. Translated by José Vieira de Lima; Other edition: Uma história do Mundo em 10½ Capîtulos. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Rocco, 1992. Translated by Roberto Grey.
Romania - O istorie a lumii in 10 si 1/2 capitole. Bucuresti: Nemira, 2011. Translated by Radu Paraschivescu. Other editions: O istorie a lumii în 10 capitole si jumatate. Bucuresti: RAO, 2000; RAO, 2003.
Russian - Istoriia mira v 10 1/2 glavakh. Moskva: AST, 2000. Translated by Vladimira Babkova; Other edition: История мира в 10½ главах. Moscow: Inostrannaya Literatura / BSG Press, 2000; ACT, 2005; Eksmo, 2013.
Serbian - Istorija sveta u 10½ poglavlja. Belgrade: Centar za Geopoetiku, 1994. Translated by Ivana Đordjević and Srđan Vujica; Other editions: Centar za Geopoetiku, 1996; Belgrade: Geopoetika, 2002.
Slovak - Bratislava: Slovenský Spisovatel, 1994. Translated by Jozef Kot.
Slovenian - Zgodovina sveta v desetih poglavjih in pol. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 2015. Translated by Valerija Cokan.
Spanish - Una historia del mundo en diez capítulos y medio. Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama, 1990. Translated by Maribel De Juan. Other edition: Barcelona: Círculo de Lectores, 1991 (Book club edition); Compactos Anagrama, 1994; Compactos Anagrama, 2000.
Swedish - En världshistoria i 10½ kapitel. Stockholm: Forum Publishers, 1991. Translated by Ulf Gyllenhak. Other edition: Stockholm: MånPocket, 1992; Stockholm: Pocket Express, 1993; Forum, 2018.
Turkish - 10 1/2 Bölümde Dünya Tarihi. Istanbul: AFA Yayinlari, 1994. Translated by Armagan Anar. Other edition: Istanbul: Ayrinti Yayinlari, 1999. Translated by Serdar Rifat Kirkoglu.
INTERVIEWS
11/07/1989 - The World's History and Then Some in 10½ Chapters - Bruce Cook, Daily News, Los Angeles [Conversations with Julian Barnes]
11/03/1989 - Julian Barnes - Amanda Smith, Publisher's Weekly (236.18) p.73-74
[Interview upon the publication of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters]
10/15/1989 - Endpapers: A Talk with Julian Barnes - Alexander Stuart, Los Angeles Times p.15
[Interview upon the publication of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters]
06/18/1989 - From Flaubert's Parrot to Noah's woodworm - Kate Saunders, Sunday Times, London p.G8-9
[Interview upon the publication of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters]
05/18/1987 - Julian Barnes' Big Questions: The British Novelist Tackling the Unknown - Elizabeth Kastor, Washington Post Book World B1, B9
[Interview upon the publication of A History of the World in 10½ Chapters]
REVIEWS
2012 - "Noah's Ark and Julian Barnes' Worm-Eaten version. From the Flood to the Holocaust in A History of the World in 10½ Chapters" in Losada Goya, José Manuel & Marta Guirao Ochoa (eds.) Miquel Pomar Amer, Myth and Subversion in the Contemporary Novel
[Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Publishing Scholars, 2012. 317-26]
2003 - The End of Society in Historiographic Metafiction: A Case Study - Daniel Candel Bormann, Actas del XXIII Congreso de AEDEAN (16-18 december 1999, León)
2001 - Julian Barnes's A History of Science in 10½ Chapters - Daniel Candel Bormann, English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature (82.3) p.253-61
Spring 2000 - Julian Barnes's Theses on History (in 10½ Chapters) - Jackie Buxton, Contemporary Literature (41.1) p.56-86 (ISSN: 0010-7484)
03/21/1999 - A Worm's Eye View of History: Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Brian Finney, Brian Finney Website
1999 - Nature Feminised in Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. - Daniel Candel Bormann, Atlantis: Revista de la Asociación Española de Estudios Anglo-Norteamericanos XXI.1/2 (Junio-Diciembre 1999) p.43-58
1998 - From Romanticism to Postmodernity: Two Different Conceptions of Nature in Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Daniel Candel Bormann, Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses (36) p.173-83
1997 - Random Patterns? Orderly Disorder in Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10 and ½ Chapters - Claudia Kotte, AAA -- Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik (22) p.107-128
1997 - Gegenwartsromane im Englischunterricht? Julian Barnes und der neue historische Roman - Harald Raykowski, Neusprachliche Mitteilungen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis (50.2) p.93-97 (ISSN: 0028-3983)
1996 - Fantastic Histories: A Dialogic Approach to a Narrative Hybrid - Jana L. French, University of Wisconsin, Madison. (Dissertation.)
1994 - An Ark on Which Two Might Escape": Modernist and Postmodernist Discourse Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Nadia Maria Halim, Queen's University At Kingston (Canada) pp.78 (Dissertation. Adviser: Patricia Rae)
1993 - A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Ein Hinweis auf Julian Barnes' postmoderne Weltgeschichte - Wolfgang Hallet, Anglistik and Englischunterricht (49) p.137-148 (ISSN: 0344-8266)
1993 - The Ocean, The Harbour, The City: Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Lionel Kelly, Etudes Britanniques Contemporaines no.2
06/1991 - One Good Story Leads to Another: Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Gregory Salyer, Journal of Literature & Theology (5.2) p.220-233
1991 - 'Unconfessed Confessions': the Narrators of Graham Swift and Julian Barnes - David Leon Higdon, In The British & Irish Novel since 1960. Ed. James Acheson. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. p.174-191
10/01/1989 - But Noah Was Not a Nice Man - Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review (94) p.12-13
06/24/1989 - Blinded by the Might - James Woods, Times (London) p.36-37
06/24/1989 - A Newfangled and Funny Romp - D. J. Taylor, Spectator p.40-41
06/22/1989 - Stowaway Woodworm - Frank Kermode, London Review of Books (11) p.20
French Translation
Jan/Mar 1997 - Palimpseste et pastiche generique chez Julian Barnes - Vanessa Guignery, Etudes Anglaises (50.1) p.40-52 (ISSN: 0014-195X)
03/1996 - Histoire, fiction et remaniement de soi dans A History of the World in 10½ Chapters de Julian Barnes - Bathie Samb, Bridges: An African Journal of English Studies Vol.7 p.107-127 (ISSN: 0850-1335)
03/1996 - L'effet-Méduse ou la drôle "d'histoire" de Julian Barnes - Liliane Louvel, Claudine Verley. L'Entre-deux, Cahiers forell (6) p.219-35
1994 - A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters de Julian Barnes et Le Radeau de la Méduse: L'image comme métaphore incongrue - Catherine Bernard, Récits / tableaux. Ed. Jean-Pierre Guillerm. Lille: Presses Universitaires de Lille. p.245-57
06/1993 - The Ocean, The Harbour, The City: Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters - Lionel Kelly, Etudes britanniques contemporaines (2) p.1-10
Oct/Dec 1992 - A Simple Story: 'Sur la mer des Caraibes' - Roger Little, Revue de Litterature Comparee (66.4) p.439-44 (ISSN: 0035-1466)
[Comparison between the third of "Three Simple Stories" in A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989), the poem "Sur la mer des Caraïbes" (1939) by André Frénaud, and The Voyage of the Damned (1974) by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts.]
03/1991 - Julian Barnes' History of the World in 10½ Chapters: A Levinasian Deconstructionist Point of View - Isabelle Raucq Hoorickx, Le Langage et l'Homme: Recherches Pluridisciplinaires sur le Langage (26.1) p.47-54 (ISSN: 0458-7251)
11/1990 - Les choses cachées depuis la fondation de l'Arche - Critique (522) p.900-10
06/08/1990 - L'antépénultième - Apostrophes Antenne 2 (Television interview.)
05/1990 - Julian Barnes l'inclassable - Pierre Maury, Magazine Litteraire (277) p.77-79
04/17/1990 - Portrait de Julian Barnes - Soir 3 FR3 (Television interview.)
04/06/1990 - Julian Barnes ou l'Histoire vue par un ver à bois - Nicole Zand, Le Monde p.30
04/01/1990 - Le monde selon Barnes - Marc Porée, Quinzaine littéraire p.11-12
03/30/1990 - L'arche de Julian - Anne Pons, L'Express p.148
03/15/1990 - Les bestiaires de Julian Barnes - Jean-Louis Ezine, Le Nouvel Observateur p.147-49
German Translation
2000 - Kunst und Katastrophe. Ein Zwiegespräch zum 'Floß der Medusa' in Julian Barnes' 'A History of the World in 10½ Chapters' - Christoph Henke and Charis Goer, Weimarer Beiträge (46.1) p.129-136
11/04/1999 - 'How do you turn catastrophe into art?' Oder: Der Stoff, aus dem die Katastrophen sind. Ein Zwiegespräch zum 'Floß der Medusa' in Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. - Charis Goer and Christoph Henke, Verstärker (4.4)
10/12/1999 - Rote Beete aus dem Empire - Ingeborg Harms, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung p.L26
1997 - Random Patterns? Orderly Disorder in Julian Barnes's A History of the World in 10 and ½ Chapters - Claudia Kotte, Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik (22.1) p.107-128
1995 - Fragmentierte Multiversalgeschichte als Alternative zu totalisierender Universalgeschichte: Genreüberschreitungen als implizite Form von historiographischer Metafiktion in Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 10 and 1/2 Chapters - Ansgar Nünning, In Von historischer Fiktion zu historiographischer Metafiktion. II: Erscheinungsformen und Entwicklungstendenzen des historischen romans in England seit 1950. Trier: WVT p.359-364 (chapter 4.3)
1993 - A History of the World in 10½ Chapters. Ein Hinweis auf Julian Barnes' postmoderne Weltgeschichte - Wolfgang Hallet, In Anglistik & Englischunterricht Vol.49 Heidelberg (Edited by Diller, Hans-Jürgen and Stephan Kohl) p.137-148
Italian Translation
11/26/2004 - REALITY, HISTORY AND SIMULACRA: 3 NOVELS OF JULIAN BARNES - Sara Ricci, UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MACERATA
1992 - His True Penelope Was Flaubert: Julian Barnes e il futuro del racconto - Silvia Albertazzi, (S. Albertazzi and L.M. Crisafulli Jones editors) In viaggio nel racconto. Percorsi e prospettive della narrativa breve di lingua inglese. Urbino, QuattroVenti. p.83-101
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