Iris Murdoch

7 summariesLiterary Fiction, Philosophy, Fiction

Dame Jean Iris Murdoch was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her first published novel, Under the Net (1954), was selected in 1998 as one of Modern Library's 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Her 1978 novel The Sea, the Sea won the Booker Prize. In 1987, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to literature. In 2008, The Times ranked Murdoch twelfth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

Books by Iris Murdoch

7 books available

Under the Net
Iris Murdoch
3.8 (13k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
In bohemian London, a charming but aimless young translator chases an old love, falls into absurd misadventures, and grapples with an enigmatic philosopher's ideas about language.
The Black Prince
Iris Murdoch
4.0 (7k) average on GoodreadsFiction
A middle-aged writer's memoir reveals a life stifled by artistic failure, bad relationships, and self-delusion, as he fights for love, truth, and meaning.
A Severed Head
Iris Murdoch
3.8 (7k) average on GoodreadsFiction
An academic's polite world of affairs collapses when his wife leaves him for her psychoanalyst, sending him into a dark, funny spiral through an incestuous maze of intense passions and unsettling self-discovery.
The Bell
Iris Murdoch
3.9 (6k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
Outside an abbey, a lay community's spiritual quest turns chaotic when a rediscovered bell tolls for a returning wife, a confronted leader, and a wise Abbess, all facing salvation, human weakness, and the fight between good and evil.
The Unicorn
Iris Murdoch
3.6 (2k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
In a remote Irish castle, a young governess becomes entangled in the unsettling, ritualistic imprisonment of its enigmatic lady, revealing a gothic web of obsession, sacrifice, and the terrifying beauty of delusion.
A Fairly Honourable Defeat
Iris Murdoch
3.9 (2k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
In a dark comedy, a cynical intellectual manipulates friends and couples, exposing their fragile loyalties and proving humanity prefers drama over honest communication.
The Green Knight
Iris Murdoch
3.9 (1k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
In contemporary London, a failed murder attempt unleashes a mysterious stranger whose bizarre demands for amends unravel a family's eccentric circle with unsettling, fatal consequences.