Plot summary

On the one hand, the novel is the fictional biography of Martha Cochrane, a clever and ambitious Englishwoman with a rural lower middle-class background who, after graduating from university, attempts to climb the ladder of success within corporate Britain. As a woman of about 40, she reaches the zenith of her career when she is employed by the eminent British entrepreneur Sir Jack Pitman whose final project -- a miniature re-creation on the Isle of Wight of all that is essentially English, something more than, and superior to, a theme park -- she helps to realize. After she has dethroned the ageing Pitman by threatening to expose to the world his monthly visits to a high-class brothel, she holds the post of Chief Executive Officer for a few years. But then she breaks up with her lover and accomplice, Paul Harrison, is dismissed as a result and, as persona non grata, leaves for the Continent. After some years of aimlessly travelling the world she re-enters the real Britain, which by now has regressed to an unimportant, insular and almost pre-industrial existence. It is there, somewhere in Wessex, that she spends her final days, solitary, thoughtful and not altogether unhappy. The middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independence, but not a great deal of social influence or power. ... For the computer game previously called Entrepreneur, see The Corporate Machine. ... The Isle of Wight is an English island and county, off the southern English coast, to the south of the county of Hampshire. ... Theme Park is a simulation computer game designed by Bullfrog Productions, released in 1994, in which the player designs and operates an amusement park. ... Look up Persona non grata in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map of the British Isles circa 802 Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the Kingdom of England. ...

On the other hand, England, England is the story of Sir Jack Pitman's gigantic project of draining England of everything that is essentially English (including the royals), reassembling it on the Isle of Wight and turning that island into an independent member state of the European Union -- a project which quite soon develops its own momentum and which survives its founding fathers and mothers. At the end of the novel, which reaches well into the 21st century, "Old England", which has adopted its old name, Anglia, is a depopulated country (there is talk of "boat people") reduced in size (after a blitzkrieg, it only consists of the old Anglo-Saxon heptarchy) and characterized by atavism (cf. "Deep England"), while England, England (the former Isle of Wight) is still going strong both as a major tourist attraction and a sovereign state in its own right. In the course of the novel, Pitman becomes "Island Governor", but in reality he wants to turn the island into a quasi-dictatorship run solely on the principles of the free market. Members of the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony The British Royal Family is a shared royal family. ... The 21st century is the present century of the Anno Domini (common) era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Anglia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about asylum seekers travelling by boat. ... The defining characteristic of what is commonly known as Blitzkrieg is that it is a highly mobile form of mechanized warfare. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600 Britain and Ireland around the year 802 Heptarchy (Greek: seven + realm) is a collective name applied to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the south and east of Great Britain during late antiquity and the early... An atavism can mean an organism that is a real or supposed evolutionary throwback; the unexpected appearance of primitive traits; or a reversion to or reappearance of a trait that had been present in a lineage in the past, but which had been absent in intervening generations. ... The term Merry England, or in more jocular, half-timbered spelling Merrie England, refers to a semi-mythological, idyllic, and pastoral way of life that the lucky inhabitants of England allegedly enjoyed at some poorly-defined point between the Middle Ages and the completion of the Industrial Revolution. ... A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy...

On yet another level, England, England is a novel of ideas -- mainly ideas that correspond to the criticism of society voiced by French philosophers of the second half of the 20th century. The seminal work in this respect is Jean Baudrillard's (b.1929) L'échange symbolique et la mort (1976), in which Baudrillard claims that in the course of the 20th century reality has been superseded by "simulacra", by representations of the original which -- in a world where technology has developed the means to replicate each and everything, including works of art (cf. Walter Benjamin's 1936 essay "Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit") and humans (by means of cloning) -- acquire an independent and increasingly higher status than the original: because they are safer, easier to handle, more cost-effective, ubiquitous and thus more easily accessible, renewable, and predictable. (Cf. "postmodernism" and also U.S. sociologist George Ritzer's "McDonaldization" thesis of the 1990s, in particular his discussion of tourism). Jean Baudrillard (born June 20, 1929) (IPA pronunciation: [1]) is a cultural theorist, philosopher, political commentator, and photographer. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Simulacrum (plural: simulacra), from the Latin simulare, to make like, to put on an appearance of, originally meaning a material object representing something (such as a cult image representing a deity, or a painted still-life of a bowl of fruit). ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... Walter Benjamin (July 15, 1892 – September 27, 1940) was a German Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. ... Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of something. ... In economics, cost-effectiveness refers to the comparison of the relative expenditure (costs) and outcomes (effects) associated with two or more courses of action. ... Postmodernism is a controversial term partly because it implies that the modern historical period has ended. ... George Ritzer (born 1940) is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. ... McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society. ... Tourists at Oahu island, Hawaii Tourism is the act of travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. ...

This is exactly the purpose of Pitman's final project: he wants his island to epitomize everything that is truly English. As a fervent patriot, he wants to put England in a nutshell for all the world to see and to cash in on England at the same time: he does not mind that the real thing takes a turn for the worse and eventually deteriorates.

The two strands of action -- Martha Cochrane's rise to fame and her subsequent downfall on the one hand and the launching of the project and its continuing success on the other -- are intertwined when Martha applies for a job as Special Consultant in Pitman's personal staff, which she gets. Martha has acquired all the professional skills necessary to succeed in our post-industrialist society, yet she has retained from her childhood at least some of her emotional and sentimental inclinations. Although she has become scheming, calculating and ruthless in her professional life, she is still able, at times, to listen to her heart -- especially in her relationship with Paul Harrison, the "Ideas Catcher". This ability of hers also helps her cope with old age back in rural Anglia. A post-industrial society is a proposed name for an economy that has undergone a specific series of changes in structure after a process of industrialization. ...

By having his characters uninhibitedly subvert all of England's long-standing customs and traditions, Barnes inadvertently also collects, registers and critically assesses these myths. For the sake of simplification, however, in the novel old English folklore, customs and legends, but also historical facts, are altered to fit the overall purpose of the Project. As the whole island is supposed to be fit for family consumption, history has to be rewritten and bowdlerized (to pay lip service to political correctness and avoid sexual harassment actions). As they are paying high prices, mainly in advance, the visitors to the island are supposed never to be faced with anything incomprehensible or illogical because that would spoil the fun for them and could even give rise to complaints. // For the Derek Sherinian album, see Mythology (Derek Sherinian album). ... Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, material culture, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture, or group. ... In the sense used in philosophy and the social sciences, a convention is commonly seen as a set of widely agreed or accepted rules or customs. ... Look up Legend in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Thomas Bowdler (July 11, 1754 – February 24, 1825), an English physician, who published The Family Shakespeare, is best known as the source of the eponym bowdlerize (or bowdlerise[1]), the process of expurgation, censorship by removal, of material thought to be unacceptable to the intended audience, especially children or religious... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ... Sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. ...

The majority of attractions of England, England enjoy great popularity. For example, tourists are fascinated by the artificially recreated London "pea soup" fog or by a re-enactment of the Battle of Britain. Visitors also like watching the King, nicknamed "Kingy-Thingy" by his wife, who is still a Windsor; but after the death of Elizabeth II the strict line of succession has been abandoned. Both the King and his Queen enjoy having affairs with other people, and their escapades are regularly exposed by the tabloid papers. Pitman persuades the King to move permanently to the Isle of Wight, where his only duty is to appear regularly on the balcony of a half-size replica (but with double glazing) of Buckingham Palace for the paying visitors to see. Special script-writers have been hired for him and Queen Denise for the rare instances where they are allowed to say something. Combatants United Kingdom Including combatants from:[1] Poland New Zealand Canada Czechoslovakia Belgium Australia South Africa France Ireland United States Jamaica Palestine Rhodesia Germany Including combatants from Italy Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Albert Kesselring Strength 754 single-seat fighters 149 two-seat fighters 560 bombers 500 coastal 1... The House of Windsor, previously called the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, is the Royal House of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the other Commonwealth Realms. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial. ...

However, because the actors sooner or later over-identify with their roles, some of the other attractions go terribly wrong. Robin Hood and his band actually start hunting their own food in the Island's heritage parks and old-English farmyards; the smugglers really start smuggling (cf. Adam Smith's approval of smuggling); and the "Samuel Johnson Dining Experience" turns out to be a flop because Doctor Johnson is regularly rude to the guests who dine at his table. Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham. ... Adam Smith (baptized June 5, 1723 O.S. / June 16 N.S. – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneering political economist. ... A skirmish with smugglers from Finland at the Russian border, 1853, by Vasily Hudiakov. ... For other persons named Samuel Johnson, see Samuel Johnson (disambiguation). ...

External links

• Julian Barnes Website (England, England): http://www.julianbarnes.com/bib/england.html, with extensive bibliography of translations and scholarly articles.