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Morality play

Barry Unsworth

1995188 pagesabout 3–4 hours
1995
first published
  • 1995N.A. Talese · 206 pages · ENGISBN 9780385479530
  • 1995W.W Norton · 206 pages · ENGISBN 9780241133415
  • 1996W.W.Norton · ENGISBN 9780393315608
  • 1996Penguin · 188 pages · ENGISBN 9780140175745
  • 1996Wheeler Pub. · 240 pages · ENGISBN 9781568952970

It is a cold winter in the fourteenth century, and a young renegade priest, Nicholas Barber, joins an acting troupe who prepare to play the drama of their lives. Breaking the tradition of only performing religious plays, the group's charismatic leader, Martin, wants them to enact the brutal murder that has torn apart the rural village of which they have wandered. A young boy has been found dead, and the Weaver's daughter has been arrested and stands to be hung as the troupe delve deeper into the circumstances of the murder, they find themselves entering into a dark world of intrigue that may prove their undoing. Taught and suspenseful, Morality Play is an exquisite work that captivates by its power, while opening up the distant past to the new reader.

How it feels

AtmosphereNoir

How it reads

Plot intensityEventful

When and where

ThemesJustice
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