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The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch

The Black Prince

By Iris Murdoch
Introduction by Martha C. Nussbaum

By Iris Murdoch
Introduction by Martha C. Nussbaum

By Iris Murdoch
Introduction by Martha C. Nussbaum

By Iris Murdoch
Introduction by Martha C. Nussbaum

Best Seller
Paperback $16.00

Mar 25, 2003 | ISBN 9780142180112

Ebook $5.99

Mar 25, 2003 | ISBN 9781101495681

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    About The Black Prince

    Bradley Pearson, an unsuccessful novelist in his late fifties, has finally left his dull office job as an Inspector of Taxes. Bradley hopes to retire to the country, but predatory friends and relations dash his hopes of a peaceful retirement. He is tormented by his melancholic sister, who has decided to come live with him; his ex-wife, who has infuriating hopes of redeeming the past; her delinquent brother, who wants money and emotional confrontations; and Bradley’s friend and rival, Arnold Baffin, a younger, deplorably more successful author of commercial fiction. The ever-mounting action includes marital cross-purposes, seduction, suicide, abduction, romantic idylls, murder, and due process of law. Bradley tries to escape from it all but fails, leading to a violent climax and a coda that casts shifting perspectives on all that has preceded.

    About The Black Prince

    Bradley Pearson, an unsuccessful novelist in his late fifties, has finally left his dull office job as an Inspector of Taxes. Bradley hopes to retire to the country, but predatory friends and relations dash his hopes of a peaceful retirement. He is tormented by his melancholic sister, who has decided to come live with him; his ex-wife, who has infuriating hopes of redeeming the past; her delinquent brother, who wants money and emotional confrontations; and Bradley’s friend and rival, Arnold Baffin, a younger, deplorably more successful author of commercial fiction. The ever-mounting action includes marital cross-purposes, seduction, suicide, abduction, romantic idylls, murder, and due process of law. Bradley tries to escape from it all but fails, leading to a violent climax and a coda that casts shifting perspectives on all that has preceded.

    Also by Iris Murdoch

    The Sea, the Sea; A Severed Head
    Nuns and Soldiers
    The Bell
    The Good Apprentice
    A Fairly Honourable Defeat
    See all books by Iris Murdoch

    Also by Iris Murdoch

    The Sea, the Sea; A Severed Head
    Nuns and Soldiers
    The Bell
    The Good Apprentice
    A Fairly Honourable Defeat
    See all books by Iris Murdoch

    About Iris Murdoch

    Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was born in Dublin and brought up in London. She studied philosophy at Cambridge and was a philosophy fellow at St. Anne’s College for 20 years. She published her first novel in 1954 and was instantly recognized as… More about Iris Murdoch

    About Iris Murdoch

    Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was born in Dublin and brought up in London. She studied philosophy at Cambridge and was a philosophy fellow at St. Anne’s College for 20 years. She published her first novel in 1954 and was instantly recognized as… More about Iris Murdoch

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Mar 25, 2003 | 448 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780142180112

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $5.99
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Mar 25, 2003 | 444 Pages | ISBN 9781101495681

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    Praise

    Praise for Iris Murdoch and The Black Prince:

    “One of her best . . . she offers an unusual compound of pleasures: ingenious storytelling, elegant design, the provocations of myth and philosophy.” —Lawrence Graver, The New York Times

    “The most self-revelatory . . . of all her dark comedies.” —The Guardian

    “[A] marvelous, heroic novel [and] a gloriously rich tale.” —The Times (London)

    “A source of wonder and delight…No summary can do justice to the rich intricacy of character and incident with which Miss Murdoch crowds every page.” —Spectator

    “This is great Murdoch . . . her humour is all the more achingly funny because she keeps it on the edge of our vision.” —The Daily Mail

    Table Of Contents

    The Black PrinceIntroduction by Martha C. Nussbaum

    THE BLACK PRINCE
    Editor’s Foreword
    Bradley Pearson’s Foreword

    Bradley Pearson’s Story
    Part One
    Part Two
    Part Three

    Postscript by Bradley Pearson
    Four Postscripts by Dramatis Personae
    Editor’s Postscript

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