''The Eye in the Door'' is a novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1993, and forming the second part of the ''Regeneration'' trilogy. ''The Eye in the Door'' is set in London, beginning in mid-April 1918, and continues the interwoven stories of Dr William Rivers, Billy Prior, and

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

begun in ''

Regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

''. It ends some time before the conclusion of the First World War later the same year. The third part of the trilogy, '' The Ghost Road'', continues the story. Whereas ''Regeneration'' is an anomalous, but not unique, mixture of fact and fiction, ''The Eye in the Door'' acknowledges real events, including the campaign against homosexuals being waged that year by right-wing MP

Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...

, and the conviction of activist

Alice Wheeldon Alice Ann Wheeldon (27 January 1866 – 21 February 1919) was a British supporter of universal and women's suffrage and anti-war campaigner. She was convicted in 1917, along with her daughter, Winnie, and son-in-law, Alfred Mason, of conspiracy ...

for attempted assassination of Prime Minister David Lloyd George, here subsumed with the character named Beatrice Roper, but the whole remains consistently within the realm of fiction. This grants Barker more freedom to explore her characters and their actions, the descriptions of which might be considered libellous if attributed to real people. A major theme of the book, Prior's intense and indiscriminate bisexuality, is effectively contrasted with Rivers's tepid asexuality and Sassoon's pure homosexuality. Greater fictional scope also permits a deeper treatment of the psychological, political and professional life of the central character, Billy Prior.

Real people who appear in the ''Regeneration'' trilogy

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

* Charles Lutwidge Dodgson *

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

Henry Head Sir Henry Head, FRS (4 August 1861 – 8 October 1940) was an English neurologist who conducted pioneering work into the somatosensory system and sensory nerves. Much of this work was conducted on himself, in collaboration with the psychiatrist ...

* Edward Marsh * Wilfred Owen * William Rivers * Robert Baldwin Ross * Bertrand Russell *

Harold Sherwood Spencer Harold Sherwood Spencer (April 12, 1890 – August 26, 1957), also known as Howland Spencer, was an American writer and anti-homosexuality and antisemitic activist during and after World War I. He was closely associated with Noel Pemberton Billi ...

Lewis Yealland Lewis Ralph Yealland (1884 – 2 March 1954) was a Canadian-born therapist who moved to the United Kingdom to practise medicine during the First World War and was at the forefront of experimental shock techniques to treat shell shock. Early lif ...

(Beatrice Roper) *

Hettie Wheeldon Hettie Wheeldon (1891–1920) was a British socialist, school teacher and antiwar campaigner, the daughter of Alice Wheeldon. In 1917 she was arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, and Arthur H ...

(Roper) 1993 British novels Novels by Pat Barker Novels set during World War I Novels set in London Fiction set in 1918 Viking Press books {{1990s-WWI-novel-stub