Barfield School

By Barry A. Whittingham

'Would this loathsome inner creature which had poisoned his past and was now infecting the present leave its slimy traces on his future?’

The first novel in the Call of France trilogy, Barfield School explores the thoughts, feelings and motivations of Michael Morgan. Disappointing academic results, a disastrous first love and a failed job experience have all gone to make Michael feel he hasn’t yet found his way in life. He decides to train to become a French teacher. But at his parents’ home the atmosphere is poisoned, school life soon becomes tedious, and his unfortunate handling of relations with two female colleagues leads to disturbing repercussions. He longs to wipe the slate of his past clean by realizing his dream of starting life afresh in France. But he’s also tempted to stay in England and develop an exciting business proposition. Which should he choose? Wouldn’t both allow him to escape from the tensions at home and school to a more fulfilling life? Or is he simply running away from himself?

Barfield School is a dramatized portrayal of some of the things which led the author to become a longstanding expat in a country he’s always felt an irresistible attraction for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barry A. Whittingham
• Release date: Nov 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311667113

Barry A. Whittingham

On graduating with a bachelor degree in French Language and Literature Barry stepped innocently into the world of work as a commercial supervisor for a large brewery. He quickly realized, however, that a career in beer wasn’t quite his cup of tea and went back to university to train as a French teacher. After two years teaching in a secondary school he successfully applied to spend a year as an English teacher in a lycée as part of an official exchange scheme. It proved such a fascinating experience that he decided to make France his permanent home. And he’s never looked back. Barry has now retired from the English teaching and translation business he set up more than 40 years ago and divides his time between golf, gardening, foreign travel, 19th century French, English and American fiction ... and, of course, creative writing. He lives a mainly contemplative life with his French partner, Renée, in the mountains of the Jura region of Eastern France.