Barfield School

"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 trilogy CALL OF FRANCE, Barfield School explores the thoughts, feelings and motivations of Michael Morgan. Disappointing academic results, a disastrous first love and a failed first 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 starting a new life in France. But he's also tempted to stay in England and embark upon an exciting business venture. Which should he choose? Wouldn't both allow him to escape from the tensions at home and at 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.