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Paperback Morality Play Book

ISBN: 0393315606

ISBN13: 9780393315608

Morality Play

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Like New

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Book Overview

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.

Customer Reviews

8 customer ratings | 6 reviews

Rated 5 stars
Incomparable Parable

An engrossing murder mystery of plague era midwinter; I enjoyed this seasonal read and will return to it many years I'm sure. Hard to compare except maybe to Mantel or Ishiguro, though theatrical and often funny, this novel is fascinating and disturbing.

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Rated 5 stars
My favorite Unsworth

I have read all but one of Barry Unsworth's books (Sacred Hunger was too painful for me), but this is my favorite. In his amazing style he captures a time and place, in depth, using the private lives of people you are convinced lived. Enjoy, Bruce Gibbs

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Rated 5 stars
A Fine Tale.

The major selling point of this novel is that it has a very interesting and engrossing storyline. Neither does the author digress into inconsequential sideplots nor does he use the book as an excuse to show off his vocabulary i.e. no boring lifeless descriptions of the scenery or alleged insights into how the human mind works. This focus implies that it's possible to read the book in just one sitting without noticibly perturbing...

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Rated 5 stars
The plot isn't that important here

How can I say "buy this book -- don't let any negative reviews deter you" -- without seeming to contradict or criticize some of the negative comments? (Good comments, but some were possibly the result of preconceived notions.)I didn't expect a great mystery -- the concept was intriguing in itself, and it wouldn't have mattered to me if the murder had remained unsolved. I did expect a sure hand with the time, place,...

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Rated 5 stars
A brilliant medieval murder mystery

Barry Unsworth's "Morality Play" is a brilliantly told murder mystery set in 14th century medieval England. It tells of how a fallen monk in his escape from the monastery joins up with a travelling theatre troupe and in the process helps solve a town murder by performing a morality play to expose the murderer. There are strong shades of Umberto Eco's "The Name Of The Rose" in this wonderfully captivating novel, which though...

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