A Month in the Country
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A Month in the Country is a the fourth novel by J. L. Carr, first published in 1980 and nominated for the Booker Prize. The book won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1980.
| A Month in the Country | |
 Dust jacket of first edition - 1980 |
|
| Author | J.L. Carr |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Harvester Press |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback |
| Pages | 111 |
| ISBN | 0855273283 |
| Preceded by | How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the F.A. Cup |
| Followed by | The Battle of Pollocks Crossing |
The plot concerns a World War I veteran employed to uncover a mural in a village church that was thought to exist under coats of whitewash. At the same time another veteran is employed to look for a grave beyond the church yard walls. There is prevalent religious symbolism through out the book mainly dealing with judgment.
Many of the incidents in the novel are based on real events in Carr's own life, and some of the characters are modeled on his own Methodist family.
The novel is a set book as a part of some secondary school English courses. The story was made into a 1987 film starring Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Patrick Malahide. It was directed by Pat O'Connor.
[edit] Publishing history
- 1980, Harvester Press, Brighton (reprinted 1981, 1982)
- 1980, St Martin's Press, New York (USA)
- 1980, Penguin Books (reprinted nine times)
- 1984, Academy Chicago Publishers (USA)
- 1988, ISIS Large Print Books
- 1990, Cornucopia Press (signed edition limited to 300 copies)
- 1991, The Quince Tree Press
- 1992, Un mois à la campagne Actes Sud, Arles (French)
- 1996, Een maand in de provincie Veen, Utrecht/Antwerp (Dutch)
- 1999, The Folio Society, illustrated by Ian Stephens
- 1999, Pasion en el campo Andres Bello (Spanish?)
- 2000, Penguin Classics, with an introduction by Penelope Fitzgerald
- 2000, New York Review of Books Classics (USA)
- 2003, Ulverscroft Large Print
- 2004, Un mes en el campo Pre-Textos, Valencia (Spanish)
- 2005, Un mese in campagna Fazi, Italy (Italian)
