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 ."