Pseudonym of Julian Barnes. He was born in Leicester, later moving to London. He studied at the City of London School before reading modern languages at Magdelen College, Oxford. In 1969, after leaving university, he started work as a lexicographer on the Oxford English Dictionary Supplement. During this period he wrote his first book, a literary guide to Oxford. In the Seventies, he moved to London and established himself as a book reviewer. He worked for the New Statesman, Sunday Times and the Observer. He is the creator of 'Duffy', a bisexual ex-policeman who runs a one-man detective agency. Visit also this site.