The second installment in the Regeneration Trilogy
It is the spring of 1918, and Britain is faced with the possibility of
defeat by Germany. A beleaguered government and a vengeful public target
two groups as scapegoats: pacifists and homosexuals. Many are jailed,
others lead dangerous double lives, the the eye in the door becomes a
symbol of the paranoia that threatens to destroy the very fabric of
British society.
Central to this novel are such compelling, richly imagined characters as
the brilliant and compassionate Dr. William Rivers; his most famous
patient, the poet Siegfried Sassoon; and Lieutenant Billy Prior, who
plays a central role as a domestic intelligence agent. With compelling,
realistic dialogue and a keen eye for the social issues that have gone
overlooked in mainstream media, The Eye in the Door is a triumph that
equals Regeneration and the third novel in the trilogy, the 1995
Booker Prize-winning The Ghost Road, establishing Pat Barker's place
in the very forefront of contemporary novelists.