Books like Arthur and George by Julian Barnes

Set in late nineteenth‑century Britain, the novel follows Arthur, who grows up in modest, genteel Edinburgh and later becomes a celebrated writer, and George, raised in a Staffordshire vicarage and eventually a Birmingham solicitor. Their paths cross when a scandalous series of events, known as the Great Wyrley Outrages, brings them together. George’s mixed Indian‑Scottish heritage makes his family the target of anonymous letters and violent attacks on livestock, leading the police to suspect him. Despite the lack of evidence, George is arrested, tried, and sentenced to seven years of hard labour. Arthur, moved by the injustice and a personal crisis, is compelled to intervene. The narrative interweaves historical detail with the inner lives of its protagonists, exploring themes of justice, identity, nationality, and race while reflecting on how past events echo into contemporary times.

First publish date: 2005