Morality Play

By: Barry Unsworth

Narrated by: Michael Maloney

It is the late 14th century, a dangerous time beset by war and plague. Nicholas Barber, a young and wayward cleric, stumbles across a group of travelling players and compounds his sins by joining them. Yet the town where they perform reveals another drama: a young woman is to be hanged for the murder of a 12-year-old boy. What better way to increase their takings than to make a new play, to enact the murder of Thomas Wells?

But as the actors rehearse, they discover that the truth about the boy's death has yet to be revealed.

©1995 Barry Unsworth (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great Story...highly recommended

Would you listen to Morality Play again? Why?

Yes...this was third time reading and first listening. Great story...a novella...and fresh every time.

What did you like best about this story?

The breathless narrative by a first person storyteller.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening scene. Story told in first person brings you right into the forest watching the other characters in medieval England. Economically told. Cinematic.

Any additional comments?

A short novel that manages to have you engaged with several characters as they dance on the edge of danger's cliff while unraveling a mystery.

A great novel

Compelling the story is in its actuality and dramatic content clad in a medical shroud of context. Barry Unsworth is a master of the word and inventive plots in contexts which fascinate in their well fleshed out historic settings- this believable. His language takes the reader into the story. M. Melody's voice is excellent in some parts bringing to live the "spoken words". Yet, he often hasts along to loose the listener a little , leaving the impression he wants to reach the end. If my favourite novel Stone Virgin were to be read in a measured way to give time for the language to unfold, I will listen ( again)!

Great story

A really terrific short book. Engaging reader performing a wide variety of accents and characters. Loved thinking about the development of the dramatic form, and the many different types of language required.

Fantastic

On of Barry Unsworth's best novels and all the better for being short and punchy. It plunges you into a very believable medieval worldview and meditates on the relation between art and reality, while also spinning a gripping murder mystery tale at the same time. Michael Maloney's reading is a true performance - he speaks in a breathy, hyperactive voice that captures the novel's intensity extremely well.

Well told, but not well read

I was quite disappointed in this audiobook, having listened to and loved The Quality of Mercy by the same author. The reading of this one was breathless, rushed, and overly dramatic, even given the drama of the story. I am guessing that I would have enjoyed it more in print, but it’s hard to say for sure, as the readers voice so overshadowed the tale. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and I’m particularly drawn to the “Middle Ages” in Europe. So: all the more disappointing that this novel did not measure up to its promise.