Iris Murdoch explores the fragility of relationships. Thirty years is plenty of time for friends to change their opinions. Not least of each other
The Good Apprentice
Written by Iris Murdoch
- Shortlisted
- The Booker Prize 1985
- Published by Chatto & Windus
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Through the spiritual trials of two troubled stepbrothers, Iris Murdoch conducts an inventive allegorical exploration of morality
Stuart Cuno has decided to become good. Not believing in God, he invents his own methods, which include celibacy, chastity and the abandonment of a promising academic career. At the same time, Stuart’s step-brother Edward Baltram is tormented by guilt because he has, he believes, killed his best friend. He dreams sometimes of redemption, sometimes of the most drastic of solutions - suicide.
Iris Murdoch
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
Iris Murdoch turns her microscopic gaze on vanity and obsession in her 19th novel, which won the Booker Prize in 1978
Iris Murdoch’s 15th novel is part-thriller, part-love story: a book that explores the intricacies and inconsistencies of human relationships
A government official lies dead - but awkward questions around his supposed suicide remain in Iris Murdoch’s thriller-meets-romantic comedy
Obsessed with spiders and preoccupied with death, an old man lies at the centre of Iris Murdoch’s intricate web of relationships and passions
An exploration of love and its excesses, missteps, and modest triumphs.