Observer writer and reporter Lynn Barber, whose traumatic experience as a 16 year-old inspired Nick Hornsby‘s script of An Education and led to Lone Scherfig‘s brilliant film of the same name (which Sony Classics will open stateside on October 9th), has written a piece about how the real story went down.

(l.) Lynn Barber at age 16; (r.) Carey Mulligan as she appears in An Education.

It’s interesting that Carey Mulligan, who essentially plays Barber in the film, vaguely resembles Barber when she was 16. Mulligan gives an Audrey Hepburnish, career-launching performance that’s sure to be recognized come awards time. The older suitor’s name (called David in the film and played by Peter Sarsgaard) was Simon Goldman, and my God, what a creep!. Barber’s article is well written and well told — wise and scathing and dead-on.

An Education is one of the finest and most pleasurable films I’ve seen this year. It’s like it was made in the mid ’60s by John Schlesinger right after Darling. Here’s my Sundance review.