Order of Book Series
0

Julian Barnes Books in Order

Julian Barnes has written 33 books, published between 1980 and 2026. The first book is Metroland (1980) and the newest is Departure(s) (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Julian Barnes also publishes as Dan Kavanagh.

Books
33
Published
1980–2026
Pages on record
4,179 in 21 of 33 books
Reading time
70–104 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,179 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 21 of 33 titles with a page count on record.

See all 33 books in order Printable Julian Barnes checklist
Photo of Julian Barnes, author of the Talking It Over series

Julian Barnes is an English novelist, essayist and short story writer, born in 1946. Before the fiction came three years as a lexicographer on the Oxford English Dictionary supplement. Metroland (1980) is the first of 33 catalogued Barnes books, followed by Before She Met Me (1982) and Flaubert's Parrot (1984), which took the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and a Booker Prize shortlisting. The catalogue extends to Departure(s) in 2026 and holds historical fiction, travel writing and essays alongside the novels.

How many Julian Barnes books are there?

Julian Barnes has 33 books, released between 1980 and 2026. 2 of them belong to the Talking It Over series.

Julian Barnes Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 33 Julian Barnes books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Metroland by Julian Barnes (1980)
  2. Cover of Before She Met Me by Julian Barnes (1982)
  3. Cover of Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (1984)
  4. Cover of Arthur and George: Stage Version by Julian Barnes, book 1 of the Standalone Plays series (1986)
  5. Cover of Staring at the Sun by Julian Barnes (1986)
  6. Cover of A History of the World in 10½Chapters by Julian Barnes (1989)
  7. Cover of Love, Etc. by Julian Barnes, book 2 of the Talking It Over series (1992)
  8. Cover of Letters From London by Julian Barnes (1995)
  9. Cover of Cross Channel by Julian Barnes (1996)
  10. Cover of Evermore by Julian Barnes (1996)
  11. Cover of Something to Declare by Julian Barnes (2002)
  12. Cover of The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes (2003)
  13. Cover of The Lemon Table by Julian Barnes (2004)
  14. Cover of Nothing to be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes (2008)
  15. Cover of Death by Julian Barnes (2008)
  16. Cover of Pulse by Julian Barnes (2011)
  17. Cover of Through the Window by Julian Barnes (2012)
  18. Cover of Levels of Life by Julian Barnes (2013)
  19. Cover of Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes (2022)
  20. Cover of Departure(s) by Julian Barnes (2026)
  1. 1
    Metroland1980 · 176 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Before She Met Me1982 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Flaubert's Parrot1984 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Arthur and George: Stage VersionStandalone Plays #11986 · 131 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986131
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Staring at the Sun1986 · 195 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1986195
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    A History of the World in 10½Chapters1989 · 307 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Talking It OverTalking It Over #11991 · confirmed 2/4
    1991–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Love, Etc.Talking It Over #21992 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Porcupine1992 · 144 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1992144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Letters From London1995 · 338 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995338
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Cross Channel1996 · 200 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1996200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Evermore1996 · 48 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199648
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    England, England1998 · 266 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1998266
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Something to Declare2002 · confirmed 2/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Pedant in the Kitchen2003 · confirmed 2/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Lemon Table2004 · confirmed 2/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Arthur & George2005 · confirmed 2/4
    2005–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Nothing to be Frightened Of2008 · 256 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Death2008 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2008128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Pulse2011 · 227 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Keeping an Eye Open2011 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2011288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Sense of an Ending2011 · confirmed 2/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    A Life with Books2012 · confirmed 2/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Through the Window2012 · 243 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2012243
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Explaining the Explicit2013 · confirmed 2/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Levels of Life2013 · 128 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2013128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Homage to Hemingway2015 · confirmed 2/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Noise of Time2016 · confirmed 2/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Only Story2018 · confirmed 2/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Man in the Red Coat2019 · 208 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2019208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    Elizabeth Finch2022 · confirmed 2/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  32. 32
    Changing My Mind2025 · 64 pages · confirmed 2/4
    202564
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  33. 33
    Departure(s)2026 · 160 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2026160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Julian Barnes books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Talking It Over in order

2 books
  1. 1. Talking It Over
  2. 2. Love, Etc.

Standalone Plays

1 book

1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

Standalone books

30 books

30 Julian Barnes titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Julian Barnes books in order?

You only need to read Julian Barnes books in order within the Talking It Over series, which holds 2 of the 33 Julian Barnes books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Julian Barnes

Start with Metroland (1980), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Julian Barnes book?

Departure(s) (2026) is the newest Julian Barnes book released so far.

Is there a new Julian Barnes book coming?

No next Julian Barnes book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Julian Barnes has won

Wikidata records 14 awards and 4 nominations for Julian Barnes. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Princess of Asturias Literary Prize2026Won
  • Prix Jean d'Ormesson2019Wonfor The Only Story
  • Siegfried Lenz Prize2016Won
  • Europese Literatuurprijs2012Won
  • Europese Literatuurprijs2012Wonfor Alsof het voorbij is
  • Booker Prize2011Wonfor The Sense of an Ending
  • Premio Arcebispo Xoán de San Clemente de novela estranxeira2009Wonfor Arthur & George
  • Austrian State Prize for European Literature2004Won
  • Shakespeare Prize1993Won
  • Prix Femina étranger1992Won
  • Prix Médicis essai1986Won
  • E. M. Forster Award1986Won

Julian Barnes at a glance

Still publishing
Julian Barnes published a book as recently as 2026.
Release pace
Julian Barnes books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,179 pages across the 21 of 33 books with a recorded length, a median of 200 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Julian Barnes books, 11 of 33, were published in the 2010s.

What the Julian Barnes books are about

20 of the 33 Julian Barnes books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: england is tagged on 3 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.