New Releases by Iris Murdoch

Three unforgettable novels from the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea, the Sea and "consummate storyteller" ( The Independent). "One of the most significant novelists of her generation" ( The Guardian), the "prodigiously inventive" British author Iris Murdoch grappled with questions of morality as well as the nature of love in novels that are every bit as entertaining as they are thought provoking ( The New York Times). Over the span of her career, she was the recipient of the Man Booker Prize, the Whitbread Literary Award, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The Flight from the Enchanter: In 1950s London, when the enigmatic and charismatic businessman Mischa Fox turns his entrepreneurial gaze on a small feminist magazine, his intoxicating influence begins to affect the lives of those involved: the fragile editor, Hunter; his sister, Rosa, who splits her time and affections between her brother and two other men; innocent Annette, whose journey from school to the real world ends up being more fraught than she could have foreseen; as well as their circle of friends and acquaintances, all of whom find themselves both seduced and repulsed by Fox. "Brilliant, witty, and original." — The Sunday Times The Red and the Green: In 1916, as World War I rages across Europe, Andrew Chase-White, lieutenant in the British army, travels to Ireland to see his extended family. Though he was raised in England by Protestant parents, many of his relations on the Emerald Isle are Catholic and nationalist. His arrival in Dublin ignites old resentments, new passions, political tensions, and religious crises, sending the family into a torrent of fights and alliances, affairs and betrayals. And as the historic gunfire begins at the General Post Office on the day of the Easter Rebellion, the lives of Andrew and his kin will be changed forever. "[Murdoch is] prodigiously inventive." — The New York Times The Time of the Angels: In a crumbling London rectory after the Second World War, a priest descends into a spiritual crisis and madness. Carel Fisher was once a bastion of faith, a shining example of Anglican goodness and Christian values. But time and circumstance have worn him down as surely as the bombs of the Blitz have broken apart the very walls around him. His convictions have vanished, as has his belief in mankind. As relationships and desires, resentments and retributions, begin to crowd the small church, secrets are revealed that will shatter the lives of all involved. "Excites and delights." — The New York Times

Henry og Cato er barndomsvenner, men har ikke set hinanden i flere år. Skæbnen har ført dem i hver deres retning. Cato er katolsk præst tilknyttet et sogn i et området nær London. Han er i en troskrise, da han har forelsket sig i en småkriminel men yderst smuk 17-årig dreng. Henri er derimod rejst fra fødelandet til USA for at undervise på et mindre universitet. Her bor han i flere år indtil han får nyheden om, at hans storebror er død. Henri er derfor nødt til at rejse hjem for at gøre krav på den imponerende arv, der tæller både gods og formue. Lige så stille flettes de to barndomsvenners skæbne sammen igen. En sammenfletning, der dog er i fare for at gå i hårknude ... Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) var en irsk forfatter og filosof, der særligt beskæftigede sig med dualistiske spørgsmål om godhed og ondskab. Iris Murdochs filosofiske ideer smittede af på hendes skønlitterære forfatterskab, der også tager netop samme spørgsmål om menneskets gode og dårlige sider, om moral, etik, kærlighed og ondskab.

A family struggles for redemption after a funeral brings dark secrets to the surface in this novel from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Sea, The Sea. For the first time in years, Edmund Narraway has returned to his childhood home—for the funeral of his mother. The visit rekindles feelings of affection and nostalgia—but also triggers a resurgence of the tensions that caused him to leave in the first place. As Edmund once again becomes entangled in his family's web of corrosive secrets, his homecoming tips a precariously balanced dynamic into sudden chaos, in this compelling story of reunion and coming apart from Iris Murdoch, "one of the most significant novelists of her generation" ( The Guardian).

Guilt, secrets, and lies haunt two men whose lives are bound by a long-ago tragedy in this "riveting" novel by the author of The Sea, The Sea ( Los Angeles Times). Twenty years ago, Hilary Burde's story was one of remarkable success and enviable courage. Having brought himself out of a troubled childhood with only his intellect and wit, he was one of the most promising scholars at Oxford, a student with a rare talent for linguistics and an unquenchable drive. Until the accident. Now, forty-one and a decidedly ordinary failure, Hilary finds his quietly angry routine shattered when his old professor reappears in his life—a man whose own demons are tied to Hilary's and the tragedy from years ago. As the two men begin to circle each other once again, digging up old wrongs and seeking forgiveness for long-buried ills, they find themselves on a path that will either grant them both redemption or destroy them both forever. Haunting and emotional, A Word Child is an intimate look at the madness of regret by the Man Booker Prize–winning author of Under the Net and A Severed Head.

A charismatic businessman casts a dark spell over others in this psychologically suspenseful novel by the Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Black Prince. Mischa Fox's name is known throughout London, though he himself is rarely seen. Enigmatic and desired, vicious yet sympathetic, he is a model of success, wealth, and charisma. When Fox turns his entrepreneurial gaze on a small feminist magazine known as the Artemis, his intoxicating influence quickly begins to affect the lives of those involved with the paper: the fragile editor, Hunter; generous Rosa, who splits her time and affections between her brother and two other men; innocent Annette, whose journey from school to the real world ends up being more fraught than she could have foreseen; and their circle of friends and acquaintances, all of whom find themselves both drawn to and repulsed by Fox. Told with dark humor, keen wit, and intense insight into the seductive nature of power, The Flight from the Enchanter is an intricate and dazzling work of fiction from the author of The Sea, The Sea and Under the Net, "one of the most significant novelists of her generation" ( The Guardian).

Reunited childhood friends confront their longings and failures in this "engaging" novel by a Man Booker Prize–winning author ( The New York Times). As children growing up in the English countryside, Henry Marshalson and Cato Forbes were inseparable. But, as time went on, their lives took different paths. For Henry, whose older brother would inherit his father's estate, the United States called, with a professorship to teach art history, while Cato devoted himself to the Catholic priesthood and a mission in London. But when Henry's brother dies, leaving him sole heir to his family's vast estate, Henry and Cato find themselves connecting once more and reexamining the paths their lives have taken. As Henry struggles to come to terms with his personal passions and family obligations, and Cato fights against his religious doubts and darker urges, both men find themselves entwined in a deadly intrigue that could ruin not only their lives but also the lives of those they hold dear. A dizzying display of complex plotting, Henry and Cato was praised as "Murdoch's finest novel" by Joyce Carol Oates, a spectacular combination of thrilling action and moral philosophizing that will leave readers spellbound.

Charles Arrowby has determined to spend the rest of his days in hermit-like contemplation. He buys a mysteriously damp house on the coast, far from the heady world of the theatre where he made his name, and there he swims in the sea, eats revolting meals and writes his memoirs. But then he meets his childhood sweetheart Hartley, and memories of her lovely, younger self crowd in – along with more recent lovers and friends – to disrupt his self-imposed exile. So instead of ‘learning to be good’, Charles proceeds to demonstrate how very bad he can be. ‘It isn’t all brainy fantasising in Murdochland; there’s wild swimming, appalling sandwiches, death, madness and sex’ Guardian ‘Dazzlingly entertaining and inventive’ The Times WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DAISY JOHNSON **WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE**

After his wife's death, Hugh contemplates returning to his former mistress. His son, Randall, longs to abandon his shapeless marriage for a perfect partner. Randall's young daughter, Miranda, is adored by her Australian cousin Penn, but has attachments elsewhere. Her mother Ann has her own private dream, while taking upon herself the strains and pains of all the others. Impelled by affection, lust and illusion, these characters search for love within a tightly woven web.

Edward Baltram is overwhelmed with guilt. His nasty little prank has gone horribly wrong: He has fed his closest friend a sandwich laced with a hallucinogenic drug and the young man has fallen out of a window to his death. Edward searches for redemption through a reunion with his famous father, the reclusive painter Jesse Baltram. Funny and compelling, The Good Apprentice is at once a supremely sophisticated entertainment and an inquiry into the spiritual crises that afflict the modern world. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Winner of the Booker Prize—a tale of the strange obsessions that haunt a playwright as he composes his memoirs Charles Arrowby, leading light of England's theatrical set, retires from glittering London to an isolated home by the sea. He plans to write a memoir about his great love affair with Clement Makin, his mentor, both professionally and personally, and amuse himself with Lizzie, an actress he has strung along for many years. None of his plans work out, and his memoir evolves into a riveting chronicle of the strange events and unexpected visitors-some real, some spectral-that disrupt his world and shake his oversized ego to its very core. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

An exploration of love and its excesses, missteps, and modest triumphs, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea, The Sea In a dark comedy of errors, Iris Murdoch portrays the mischief wrought by Julius, a cynical intellectual who decides to demonstrate through a Machiavellian experiment how easily loving couples, caring friends, and devoted siblings can betray their loyalties. As puppet master, Julius artfully plays on the human tendency to embrace drama and intrigue and to prefer the distraction of confrontations to the difficult effort of communicating openly and honestly. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The decline of religion and ever increasing influence of science pose acute ethical issues for us all. Can we reject the literal truth of the Gospels yet still retain a Christian morality? Can we defend any 'moral values' against the constant encroachments of technology? Indeed, are we in danger of losing most of the qualities which make us truly human? Here, drawing on a novelist's insight into art, literature and abnormal psychology, Iris Murdoch conducts an ongoing debate with major writers, thinkers and theologians—from Augustine to Wittgenstein, Shakespeare to Sartre, Plato to Derrida—to provide fresh and compelling answers to these crucial questions.

The novelist blends philosophy and metaphysics to examine the nature and origin of Plato's hostile views toward art and its role in life

A story about love and friendship and Marxism Many years ago Gerard Hernshaw and his friends “commissioned” one of their number to write a political book. Time passes and opinions change. “Why should we go on supporting a book which we detest?” Rose Curtland asks. “The brotherhood of Western intellectuals versus the book of history,” Jenkin Riderhood suggests. The theft of a wife further embroils the situation. Moral indignation must be separated from political disagreement. Tamar Hernshaw has a different trouble and a terrible secret. Can one die of shame? In another quarter a suicide pact seems the solution. Duncan Cambus thinks that since it is a tragedy, someone must die. Someone dies. Rose, who has gone on loving without hope, at least deserves a reward.

John Ducane, a respected Whitehall civil servant, is asked to investigate the suicide of a colleague. As he pursues his inquiry he uncovers a shabby, evil world of murder, blackmail, and black magic. In contrast to stagnant summer London, Octavian and Kate Gray’s adoring community on the Dorset coast seems to offer Ducane refuge, but even here the aftereffects of violence poison an atmosphere already electric with adolescent quarrels and intrigue. After a swim into the underworld, Ducane begins to realize that niceness is not enough, and no one here is good. “A feast.”—Guardian

"In this book, based on her 1976 Romanes Lecture, the distinguished novelist and philosopher discusses Plato's view on art and examines sympathetically the reasons for his hostility towards it. She offers a coherent and fully argued account of Plato's theories of art and of beauty and of their metaphysical background, which shows also that Plato was aware of the dangers of his own artistry. The argument more widely concerns the place of art in life, and includes brief discussion of ideas of many other thinkers, including Kant, Tolstoy, Freud and Kierkegaard. The book also comprises in an accessible form a general view of the development of Plato's thought." [Back cover].

A novel about the frightfulness and ruthlessness of being in love, from the author of the Booker Prize-winning novel The Sea, The Sea Martin Lynch-Gibson believes he can possess both a beautiful wife and a delightful lover. But when his wife, Antonia, suddenly leaves him for her psychoanalyst, Martin is plunged into an intensive emotional reeducation. He attempts to behave beautifully and sensibly. Then he meets a woman whose demonic splendor at first repels him and later arouses a consuming and monstrous passion. As his Medusa informs him, “this is nothing to do with happiness.” A Severed Head was adapted for a successful stage production in 1963 and was later made into a film starring Claire Bloom, Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough, and Ian Holm.

In the medieval court of Japan, the Shogun and the royal family struggle for supremacy. Between them is the political prisoner, Prince Yorimitsu, a man forced to choose the price of freedom among three barbed arrows - power, religion, or love.

Edmund has escaped from his family into a lonely life. He returns home for his mother's funeral and finds himself involved in the same awful problems he left behind, together with some new ones. He also rediscovers the eternal family servant, the ever-changing "Italian girl".4 women, 3 men