1939. He plans a new epic in 33.333 verses to be called Akritas. From July through November he is in England as a guest of the British Council. While residing in Stratford- on-Avon he writes the tragedy Julian the Apostate.
1940. He writes England and continues to sketch out Akritas and to revise " Mon pere ". To earn money, he produces novelistic biographies for children. Mussolini’ s invasion of Greece in late October makes Kazantzakis confront anew his ambivalence concerning Greek nationalism.
1941. As the Germans overrun mainland Greece and then Crete, Kazantzakis assuages his grief with work. He finishes the drama Buddha in first draft, revises his translation of Dante, and begins a novel originally entitled " The Saint’ s Life of Zorbas."