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Barry A. Whittingham

Goodreads Author

Born

in Bournemouth, The United Kingdom

September 22, 1944

Website

https://www.france-calling.com

Twitter

whittinghambar1

Genre

Romance, Fiction, Biography

Influences

Charles Dickens; Jane Austen; George Eliot; Henry James; Pierre Danin ...more

Member Since

September 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/frenglishmanbarry

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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, mind-opening experience that he decided to make France his permanent home. It was a decision he's never regretted. Barry has now retired from the English teaching, translation and interpreting business he set up more than 40 years ago and divides his time ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

I write travel/memoir books about the island we now live on, so would be interested in reviewing Barfield School. Can you email it to me on ivanaplus@hotmail.com ? I can send you a copy of my latest if you're interested. Regards, Anthony

Barry A. Whittingham Hello Anthony,
Many thanks for your interest and offer to review Barfield School. I'll be sending you a copy of the Mobi version shortly. I'd love to r…moreHello Anthony,
Many thanks for your interest and offer to review Barfield School. I'll be sending you a copy of the Mobi version shortly. I'd love to review your latest book. Please let me have a copy. The only problem is that I have a backlist of books to review, so I won't be able to start on it immediately.
Best regards,
Barry(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Barry A. Whittingham I often compare my writing methods to those of a potter or an artist. The blank page (or rather computer screen) staring at me is like a shapeless mou…moreI often compare my writing methods to those of a potter or an artist. The blank page (or rather computer screen) staring at me is like a shapeless mound of clay or an empty canvass. I have a basic routine. I do most of my writing in the morning when I’m alert and fresh. I usually get up early (around 5 o’clock) make myself a cup of coffee and take it back to bed with me along with pen and paper. I’ll then scribble down a rough draft of basic ideas as they enter my head and in any order. Sometimes they take time coming, but after the floodgates usually open and I can find enough material for that particular day. I can’t really say that I suffer from the dreaded writer’s block. After a good breakfast I’ll then settle down in my office and work on this initial draft. I never try to concentrate on producing the final sentence right away. It’s much more a question of adding details, modifying or discarding others until gradually a final version begins to take shape. I’m something of a perfectionist and attach great importance to finding le mot juste, and can sometimes spend as much as half an hour agonizing over the choice between two or three relatively synonymous words. I’ll then go over what I’ve produced again and again until I’m satisfied it has the necessary form, polish and rythm, and that I’m expressing myself as clearly and precisely as I possibly can. I attach great importance to the way sentences flow and often read what I’ve written aloud to myself. I usually lose count of the number of operations it takes for me to progress from the initial draft to the final version. (less)

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Barry A. Whittingham’s books

Average rating: 3.68 · 31 ratings · 13 reviews · 6 distinct works

	Barfield School 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	François Théodore Thistlethwaite's FRENGLISH THOUGHTS 3.22 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barry's Frenglish Folies 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A French Escape (France Calling #2) 3.25 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A French Dream (France Calling #1) 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fran?ois Th?odore Thistlethwaite's FRENGLISH THOUGHTS by Barry A. Whittingham (2013-01-13) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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163 posts
Barry A. Whittingham's Blog

A Divine Weekend?

One more of those things my French part finds contradictory in you English is why such a pragmatic, no-nonsense nation, proud to call a spade a spade, and so mistrustful of anything vaguely smacking of verbal ostentation – especially when it comes in the form of words of more than two syllables in length - should be given to such hyperbolic extravagance in their choice of descriptive language. For Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 16, 2024 06:21

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Barry’s Recent Updates

Barry Whittingham is now friends with Shana Festa
Mar 01, 2025 08:20PM · like
Barry Whittingham has read Barry's Frenglish Folies by Barry A. Whittingham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 28, 2024 04:34AM · like

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Quotes by Barry A. Whittingham (?)

“Things are never as bad as we fear nor as good as we hope. François Théodore Thistlethwaite”
― Barry A. Whittingham, François Théodore Thistlethwaite's FRENGLISH THOUGHTS

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“... but some say that reality is what happens inside a writer's head, and it is fiction which takes place outside it.”
― Barry A. Whittingham, François Théodore Thistlethwaite's FRENGLISH THOUGHTS

tags: humorous-quotations

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“Fiction is what happens inside a writer's head. Reality takes place outside it”
― Barry A. Whittingham

tags: humour-quote

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Making Connections: 1605. - François Théodore Thistlethwaite's FRENGLISH THOUGHTS by Barry A. Whittingham	1	11	Aug 25, 2013 06:00AM

Barry’s Quotes

tags: humorous-quotations

1 likes

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― H. Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You

tags: actions, disappointed, disappointment, dream, dreams, explore, misattributed-mark-twain, sail

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Francophiles — 663 members — last activity Nov 25, 2023 06:27AM
This group is for everyone who loves to read and discover new books about France – the people, history, culture, or food. Both readers and authors are ...more

Books, Blogs, Authors and More — 3718 members — last activity Dec 04, 2025 05:41AM
Need a place to advertise your blog? You can do that here. Need a place to advertise your book? You can do that here. Need a place to discuss books? Y ...more

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This Group is only for authors who are looking for reviews and Reviewers who love to read books and share their reviews.

Making Connections — 14767 members — last activity 13 hours, 23 min ago
Read, Review, and Make Connections

Independent Author Services and Promotions — 1130 members — last activity Jan 06, 2026 05:25AM
This is a group to shamelessly promote yourself, your work, and your services. Authors, Readers, and anyone that has services to offer pertaining to p ...more

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This group is dedicated to connecting readers with Goodreads authors. It is divided by genres, and includes folders for writing resources, book websit ...more

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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

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This is a place to find out about limited time cheap and free ebooks that are being advertised by authors on www.booktastik.com. All books have been c ...more

Book Promotions — 2996 members — last activity Dec 29, 2025 08:26AM
Well, it seems there is a group for everything else out there, but not one specifically for promoting books. There are places within groups to do it, ...more

Inspirational Quotes from Books — 156 members — last activity Oct 10, 2018 04:43AM
Share & Discuss Inspirational Quotes from Books. Be sure to please name the Author & Book as well. Enjoy! ...more

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