Land of marvels
By: Barry Unsworth
Publisher: Windsor; Paragon
Published: 2009
Place of publication: [Bath]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 287
ISBN-13: 9781408428597; 9781408428603
Subjects: Archaeologists; Fiction; British; Geologists; Americans; Excavations (Archaeology); Petroleum; Prospecting; Petroleum industry and trade; History; Foreign relations; Diplomatic relations
Description: "Somerville, a British archaeologist, is excavating a long-buried Assyrian palace. The site lies directly in the path of a new railroad to Baghdad, and he watches nervously as the construction progresses, threatening to destroy his discovery. The expedition party includes Somerville's beautiful, bored wife, Edith; Patricia, a smart young graduate student; and Jehar, an Arab man-of-all-duties whose subservient manner belies his intelligence and ambitions. Posing as an archaeologist, an American geologist from an oil company arrives one day and insinuates himself into the group. But he's not the only one working undercover to stake a claim on Iraq's rich oil fields."--Publishers description.
Notes: Originally published: New York: Nan A. Talese ; Hutchinson 2009.