Writers of historical fiction are not under the same obligation as historians to find evidence for the statements they make. For us it is sufficient if what we say can't be disproved or shown to be false.

Sacred Hunger (1992) centres on the Atlantic slave trade that moves from Liverpool to West Africa Florida and the West Indies. It was adapted as a film The Reckoning (2003) starring Paul Bettany and Willem Dafoe. – with sufficient subtlety and accuracy.

He publiBarry Unsworthd 17 novels and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times winning once for the 1992 novel Sacred Hunger.