The Ruby In Her Navel

Description

The Court of King Roger in Twelfth century Sicily simmers with the volatile passions of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Latins and Greeks. Among them, a young Norman called Thurstan Beauchamp finds employment under Yusuf, a Muslim who holds the Christian king's purse strings. But while Thurstan wishes to be made a Knight, he has little taste for courtly intrigues and instead divides his time between the divine - in the shape of childhood sweetheart Lady Alicia - and the delightful: the sensuous and exotic dancer Nesrin. However, in his pursuit of love and knighthood, Thurstan has yet to appreciate that he may also be a pawn in a far more deadly game...

Author description

Barry Unsworth was born in 1930 in a mining village in Durham. He has spent a number of years in the Eastern Mediterranean area, has taught English in Athens and Istanbul, and now lives in Italy. He is the author of many novels, including Pascali's Island, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1980 and has been filmed; Stone Virgin (1985); Sacred Hunger, which was joint winner of the 1992 Booker Prize; Morality Play, which was shortlisted for the 1995 Booker Prize; After Hannibal, Losing Nelson and The Songs of the Kings.