Neil’s Platonic infatuation with Elizabeth, to whom he becomes a kind of protégé, serves as a counterpoint to his distinctly unsatisfactory romantic relationships. An unsuccessful actor, sometime waiter and intellectual striver, Neil joins a venerable line of Barnesian protagonists, men just about intelligent enough to grasp how limited their knowledge of others must be, but never quite sharp enough to realise how little they understand themselves.

In the middle, in the form of a biographical essay, comes Neil’s effort at piecing together Elizabeth’s scholarly notes on the much-maligned Emperor Julian. The framing narrative consists of Elizabeth’s life story – or, rather, the mostly unsuccessful attempts of her admiring student Neil to construct that story. We are unable to accept requests for a specific cover.J ulian Barnes’s new novel has two main characters: Elizabeth Finch, quietly charismatic extramural tutor for mature students at the University of London, and Emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, aka Julian the Apostate, the last non-Christian ruler of Rome. This book has been printed with two different colour designs, blue and yellow. It's a moment to reflect and to gently explore our own theories and assumptions. It's a loving tribute to philosophy, a careful evaluation of history, an invitation to think for ourselves. And underpinning them all is the story of J - Julian the Apostate, her historical soulmate and fellow challenger to the institutional and monotheistic thinking that has always threatened to divide us. Her ideas unlock the philosophies of the past, and explore key events that show us how to make sense of our lives today. With measured empathy, she guided her students to develop meaningful ideas and to discover their centres of seriousness.Īs Neil, a former student, unpacks Elizabeth's notebooks, and remembers her uniquely inquisitive mind, her passion for reason resonates through the years. And that task becomes the more urgent when the past cannot be corrected.'Įlizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration - always rigorous, always thoughtful. 'The task of the present is to correct our understanding of the past. She will change the way you see the world. We invite you to take her course in Culture and Civilisation. We'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth Finch.

Julian barnes elizabeth finch review