Barry Unsworth

"It is hard to think of anywhere on earth where so many firsts and mosts are crammed into a space so small," Barry Unsworth writes of the isle of Crete. Birthplace of the Greek god Zeus, the Greek alphabet, and the first Greek laws, as well as the home of 15 mountain ranges and the longest gorge in Europe, this land is indisputably unique. And since ancient times, its inhabitants have maintained an astonishing tenacity and sense of national identity,...

Suffering from writer's block a man goes for a walk in Liverpool and meets a war buddy working as a busker. They discuss the death of a soldier for which the writer always felt responsible and the buddy's revelation changes the writer's life.

A novel of intrigue in an English country estate. The protagonist is Simon who lives there with his sister and whose pastime is spying on a woman neighbor as she is undressing. Simon's problems begin with the arrival of a new gardener who also has a penchant for spying. By the author of Morality Play.

Reckoning: A troupe of traveling actors during the Middle Ages stages a play to find the murderer of a local boy -- Deterrence: While taking refuge from a snowstorm, the president learns of an Iraqi offensive.