“Troy meant one thing only to the men gathered here, as it did to their commanders. Troy was a dream of wealth; and if the wind continued the dream would crumble.”As the harsh wind holds the Greek fleet trapped in the straits at Aulis, frustration and political impotence turn into a desire for the blood of a young and innocent woman – blood that will appease the gods and allow the troops to set sail. And when Iphigeneia, Agamemnon’s beloved daughter, is brought to the coast under false pretences, and when a knife is fashioned out of the finest and most precious of materials, it looks as if the ships will soon be on their way. But can a father really go to these lengths to secure political victory, and can a daughter willingly give up her life for the worldly ambitions of her father?Throwing off the heroic values we expect of them, Barry Unsworth’s mythic characters embrace the political ethos of the twenty-first century and speak in words we recognize as our own. The blowhard Odysseus warns the men to not “marginalize” Agamemnon and to “strike while the bronze is hot.” High-sounding principles clash with private motives, and dark comedy ensues. Here is a novel that stands the world on its head.From the Hardcover edition.

In Search of Spice is an epic historical fantasy romance, set in a world very similar to our own 12th century Europe. 

Captain Larroche is the veteran master of the good ship Queen Rose, named after the beloved late Queen, the first carrack to be built in Harrhein. For Harrhein is trapped, unable to trade due to pirates cutting off the only trade route. In every other direction is endless ocean. Captain Larroche is charged with finding a new trade route, to the fabled land of Hind, and he proposes to sail over the edge of the world to find it. No wonder he has trouble finding crew.

The young people he assembles, strengthened by a squad of frontier veteran Royal Pathfinders, are more than a match for known enemies. How will they handle people of another colour, with strange habits, peculiar food, treacherous officials, different languages and customs that defy belief?

Climb aboard for a swashbuckling cruise into new lands and people, with strange animals and different ways of looking at the world. The pages ring with cultures clashing.