Land of Marvels
Author: Barry Unsworth
Publisher: Random House
Price: $30 (Hardcover)
Booker Prize-winning author Barry Unsworth returns with another work of historical fiction, this one set in Mesopotamia (an area now part of Iraq) in 1914.
Construction on a new railroad to Baghdad creates conflict for a host of characters with an interest in the land.
A British archaeologist wants the construction stopped, as it will interfere with his excavation of an Assyrian palace. And an undercover oil company geologist who poses as an American archeologist is really only interested in tapping area’s oil fields.
Land of Marvels foreshadows modern events and offers a glimpse into their historical catalysts.
