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Morality Play

By Barry Unsworth

By Barry Unsworth

By Barry Unsworth

By Barry Unsworth

Best Seller
Paperback $16.95

Aug 29, 2017 | ISBN 9780525434092

Ebook $11.99

Jan 10, 2012 | ISBN 9780307948458

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    Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
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    Aug 29, 2017 | ISBN 9780525434092

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    About Morality Play

    A New York Times Notable Book

    In medieval England, a runaway scholar-priest named Nicholas Barber has joined a traveling theater troupe as they make their way toward their liege lord’s castle. In need of money, they decide to perform at a village en route. When their traditional morality plays fail to garner them an audience, they begin to stage the “the play of Thomas Wells”—their own depiction of the real-life drama unfolding within the village around the murder of a young boy. The villagers believe they have already identified the killer, and the troupe believes their play will be a straightforward depiction of justice served. But soon the players soon learn that the details of the crime are elusive, and the lines between performance and reality become blurred as they discover, scene by scene, line by line, what really happened. Thought-provoking and unforgettable, Morality Play is at once a masterful work of historical fiction, a gripping murder mystery, and a literary work of the first order.

    About Morality Play

    Booker Prize Finalist

    The time is the fourteenth century. The place is a small town in rural England, and the setting a snow-laden winter. A small troupe of actors accompanied by Nicholas Barber, a young renegade priest, prepare to play the drama of their lives. Breaking the longstanding tradition of only performing religious plays, the groups leader, Martin, wants them to enact the murder that is foremost in the townspeoples minds. A young boy has been found dead, and a mute-and-deaf girl has been arrested and stands to be hanged for the murder. As members of the troupe delve deeper into the circumstances of the murder, they find themselves entering a political and class feud that may undo them. Intriguing and suspenseful, Morality Play is an exquisite work that captivates by its power, while opening up the distant past as new to the reader.

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    Also by Barry Unsworth

    The Ruby in Her Navel
    The Songs of the Kings
    Sacred Hunger
    The Quality of Mercy
    After Hannibal
    See all books by Barry Unsworth

    Also by Barry Unsworth

    The Ruby in Her Navel
    The Songs of the Kings
    Sacred Hunger
    The Quality of Mercy
    After Hannibal
    See all books by Barry Unsworth

    About Barry Unsworth

    Barry Unsworth was born in 1930 and grew up in a mining town in northeast England. Descended from a long line of coal miners, he was the first Unsworth to escape the mines. He attended Manchester University and published his… More about Barry Unsworth

    About Barry Unsworth

    Barry Unsworth was born in 1930 and grew up in a mining town in northeast England. Descended from a long line of coal miners, he was the first Unsworth to escape the mines. He attended Manchester University and published his… More about Barry Unsworth

    Product Details

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Anchor
    Aug 29, 2017 | 208 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780525434092

    Category: Literary Fiction | Historical Fiction | Mystery & Suspense

    Ebook | $11.99
    Published by Anchor
    Jan 10, 2012 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9780307948458

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    Praise

    “A bravura performance . . . A thought-provoking comedy on the eternal sameness of disaster and the recurrent uses we put it to in art.” —The New York Times Book Review 

    “Brilliantly imagined. . . . A dramatic meditation on the relationship between life and play.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    “A historical novelist of rare talent. . . . A spare and disquieting tale.” —The Boston Globe
     
    “A book of subtlety, compassion, and skill. . . . Confirms Barry Unsworth’s position as a master craftsman of contemporary British fiction.” —Los Angeles Times

    “A learned, witty, satisfying entertainment.” —The New York Times

    “Works brilliantly. . . . A dark and suspenseful murder mystery; and a provocative meditation on the birth of a new art form.” —Chicago Tribune

    “An absorbing mix of historical fiction and whodunit, the novel abounds in vivid, seamlessly integrated details of fourteenth-century life.” —The Wall Street Journal

    “An entertaining, thought-provoking work of remarkable scope and detail.” —Houston Chronicle
    “A gem. . . . Morality Play resonates with meaning for our own time.” —Newsday

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