Rating: 
Summary: Roaring promise but weak conclusion.
Review: Morality Play starts out with roaring promise as the curtain opens: a fugitive monk stumbles into a traveling actors troupe in the woods of medieval England and is taken under their wing as the players make their way across the wintry countryside. With the monk eagerly absorbing the tricks of the players trade as the group literally sings for their supper, the reader is transported through a 14th-century world of feudal loyalties, political intrigue and the desperation of peasants trying to survive against winter, famine, the Black plague and the injustices of ruling priests and knights. But there's danger ahead - the group arrives in a small village in the aftermath of a child's murder, and finds itself with a role to play as the evidence is hastily buried. Up to this point the story is a rollicking good read, with interesting group dynamics as each troupe-member adopts their public and private roles, and a growing sense of dread as the players get deeper into dangerous waters. Unsworth does a great job of making medieval England come alive - you smell the stench of corpses, you feel the itch of the horsehair costume, you fear the unpredictable rage of the peasantry. But just when you're expecting a strong and satisfying conclusion, the story collapses. It simply peters out. A late-arriving character arrives at the end to explain it all and promise that everything will be OK. It's like watching a murder mystery on stage where suddenly the curtain comes down and somebody you've never seen arrives on stage to tell the audience "the bad guy was arrested, the crime was solved, and you can go home now, and I have no idea what happened to the players left in the castle." Despite Unsworth's masterful depiction of time and place, Morality Play suffers from a disappointing ending for a story with so much promise.
Rating: 
Summary: A 14th Century Mystery Classic
Review: Morality Play, a fourteenth century classic set in England, immediately captures the reader with vivid descriptions and engaging characters. Unsworth endows each character with such incredibly detailed personalities, that the actors themselves are worthy of careful attention. The novel is about a monk, Nicholas, who violates his chastity, runs away, and joins a group of play-acters as they travel through England to a small town to perform. As they attempt to replicate the murder of a young boy that is haunting the small, medieval town, they find themselves getting closer and closer to the actual truth. Oddly enough, a deaf mute girl is being blamed for the tragedy. Unsworth's unique style allows the reader to become instantly surrounded in a world of mystery and horror. Not many writers have captured a time period and setting the way Unsworth captures 14th century England. The only flaw in this book is that the ending does not live up to the expectations a reader gets while reading this intricately woven masterpiece. Regardless, the book and its characters are worth the few days most readers will probably spend reading this "can't put it down" type novel. A must read for any mystery or medieval history enthusiasts out there!
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful rendition of the power of the actor's mask
Review: My 2 cent's worth - terrific, as are Unsworth's "Sacred Hunger" and "Rage of the Vulture".
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Pillars of the Earth, Narcissus and Goldmand, and Unsworth's Morality Play are my favorite novels that take place during the medieval period. Unsworth is one of the greatest living authors of historical fiction. This is an outstanding story, beautifully written, with a wonderfully surprising ending. Read it before the movie comes out!
Rating:
Summary: A good book club discussion book
Review: Set among a troupe of players in Medieval England, "Morality Play" is a vigorously researced historical novel. There's a murder mystery, but that's secondary. Unsworth goes into great deal about the troupe's costumes, dramatic tools, recitation, and improvisation. One of the most interesting parts of the book is when he explains how hand gestures were used to communicate certain ideas to the audience and how they were used among players while improvising. Others in my book group liked the book more than I did but we all agreed that the value lies in its description of the times and the power and evolution of theater. There's even a clever use of Deus Ex Machina in the plot. It proved to be a good discussion book but is a must read of theater people.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly entertaining
Review: Superbly crafted descriptions bring to graphic life the characters,landscapes,and lifestyles of the fourteenth century, but bring with them a relevance to today. Particularly well done are the scenes where the play comes to life and leads the players along the path to solve the murder mystery. A thoroughly entertaining book, and a great movie? One day, perhaps.
Rating:
Summary: A thrilling medieval detective story
Review: The novel "Morality Play" has a plot similar to many modern crime stories, it just takes place in the Middle Ages. In this story a young monk joins a group of travelling players. When they enter a small town they hear of a murder and decide to perform it as a play. By investigating the circumstances of the murder they find out the truth. The beginning of the novel is written very descriptively and some passages are even boring, but somewhere in the middle of the story it changes to a thrilling tale - you really get interested in the truth about the murder.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelously told story (with a few reservations)..
Review: The plotting and the characterizations in Morality Play are indeed wonderful, but as one reviewer noted, the ending is a bit of a let down. In the opening pages, the narrator tells you of the great horrors he has witnessed that are with him to this day, and as the story nears its conclusion one is prepared for some horrific tale- but the reader is instead left with a rather ordinary ending and one that wraps things up a bit too quickly and perhaps too simply. That's not to say it isn't a good or well done ending- only that the author seems to be setting the reader up for something quite different from what is finally presented. In that context, the ending seems weak. Reading, I often found myself comparing Unsworth's middle ages with those of Umberto Eco's as portrayed in The Name of the Rose, and it seemed to me that Eco covered similar ground but in a much more vivid and involving (to the reader) manner. I still recommend the book highly; the comnparison to Eco is as much a compliment as a criticism
Rating:
Summary: ~ Atmospheric and Alluring ~
Review: This novel ingeniously draws you beneath a cloak within its dark, wintery realm -- via a poor company of players in the grasp of a snow-flurried, overcast December in the England of the 14th century. Nicholas, the protagonist, is a priest on the run - literally escaping the course of his life - and he joins a traveling company of actors. The group perform various religious and philosophical pieces. When they arrive in an isolated small town set around the castle of a great Lord, they find themselves imposed upon with numerous expenses that deplete their already low funds. When the play they perform fails to adequately replenish their means, they set about performing a play of the actual, recent murder of a 12-year-old boy. This is a fast-paced tale that can be read entirely in one sitting. Barry Unsworth has succeeded here in providing a thought-provoking story that touches on questions of morality and the mysteries of human interaction. These qualities and several more, grasp at your senses as you tread briskly through the drama and mystery, empathizing with characters whose words and movements shift amazingly in sync with the cold, grey and white rhythm of the atmosphere. And while you may not see the white clouds of your breath while reading this novel, you will almost certainly feel it ~~~~
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable mystery.....
Review: This simple story serves as a framework for a history lesson as well as a depressing yet fascinating glimpse into life in fourteenth century England. Although nowhere near as ambitious or complex, Morality Play has many of the same attractions as "An Incidence of the Fingerpost." It is a window into a world long gone, alien and difficult for us to imagine, and all the more enthralling because of it. It is a fascinating book that can be read in a few hours. Fleeing the rigors of the priesthood, as well as an outraged husband, Nicholas joins a band of actors to survive in this nearly lawless land. The small ragged group travels together for protection and to perform stylized plays in small villages along the way for pennies. The plague is in the land again, starvation is an ever present threat, and Kings and Lords hold the power of life and death over the desperately poor. Unwittingly, the group of players stumble into a village which was recently the site of the murder of a young boy. A young woman has been tried for the crime and is to hang immediately. Step by step the group is drawn into this real life drama of life and death until their own wretched existence is at stake. Although this is a clever plot in a deceptively simple story, the period is the real attraction here. The author captures the most desperate existence imaginable while painting a portrait of a cold, gray, primitive England that is vivid and memorable. A fast and entertaining book.
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