Iris Murdoch’s 15th novel is part-thriller, part-love story: a book that explores the intricacies and inconsistencies of human relationships.

Bradley Pearson, narrator and hero, is an elderly writer with a ‘block’. Adding and contributing to his torment are a host of predatory friends and relations - his melancholic sister, his ex-wife and her delinquent brother, and a younger, deplorably successful writer, Arnold Baffin. Not to mention Baffin’s restless wife and disturbingly engaging daughter. Bradley attempts to escape. His failure to do so, and its aftermath, lead to a violent climax and a most unexpected conclusion.

Shortlisted
The Booker Prize 1973
Published by
Chatto & Windus
Publication date
Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch

About the Author

Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin and made her writing debut with Under the Net in 1954. She wrote 26 novels and several books of philosophy.
More about Iris Murdoch

Other nominated books by Iris Murdoch

The Book and the Brotherhood
The Good Apprentice
The Sea The Sea
Prize winner
Bruno's Dream
The Nice and the Good