Morality Play
Barry Unsworth
Nan A. Talese (1995)
In Collection
#138
0*
Detective And Mystery Stories, Historical Fiction
Detective And Mystery Stories, Great Britain, Great Britain - History - 14th Century - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Theater
Hardcover 9780385479530
English
Barry Unsworth, author of the Booker Prize-winningsSacred  Hunger, turns to 14th-century England with a novel of foul doings in the time ofThe Name of the Rose. InMorality Play, Barry Unsworth, indisputably the finest writer of literate historical fiction alive today, brings 14th-century England to vibrant life, transporting us back to this "distant mirror" to show us a world that, beneath its medieval trappings, is full of the same corruption and moral dilemmas that we face today.  Nicholas Barber is a 23-year-old monk who, fearing the wrath of his bishop for breaking his vows of chastity, takes up with a troupe of traveling players.  Coming to a small town in the middle of winter, the troupe puts on its usual morality play, only to get caught up in a drama of a different kind.  A murder has taken place and a mute-and-deaf girl stands condenmed, awaiting execution.  Seeing an opportunity to attract a large audience, the players go through the town collecting information, which they weave into their second performance.  As they perform, though, the story grows, as does the audience.  Soon they learn that what makes for good drama is far closer to the dangerous truth than they originally imagined and they attract the concerned attention of the local potentate, the powerful Lord de Guise, who summons them to his castle for a "private performance."Morality Playis a brilliant novel that holds us in its powerful grip as it deftly portrays how art can, quite literally, reveal truth.
Product Details
LoC Classification PR6071.N8 .M67 1995
LoC Control Number 95004106
Dewey 823.914
Cover Price $22.50
No. of Pages 206
Height x Width 8.5 x 6.3  inch
Personal Details
Read It Yes
Location Fiction
Purchase Date 4/11/2017
Links Library of Congress