Iris Murdoch: The Retrospective Fiction [Hardcover]

Iris Murdoch: The Retrospective Fiction traces the preoccupation in Murdoch's fiction with the way the past makes its mark upon us, haunting us and eluding our attempts to grasp it. This argument was given an extra resonance by the death of Murdoch after Alzheimer's disease in 1999, when the book was first published - a curious blurring of life and work typical of the posthumous reassessment of Murdoch. This new edition includes detailed readings of novels not discussed in the original ( The Bell, The Sacred and Profane Love Machine , and The Philosopher's Pupil ) and includes a new preface, an updated bibliography and three new chapters covering Murdoch's most important and popular novels, considering in more depth her relationship with the dominant literary and intellectual currents of her time.Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Revisiting the Sublime and the Beautiful: Iris Murdoch's Realism The Insistence of the Past Narrative as Redemption: The Bell Author and Hero: Murdoch's First-Person Retrospective Novels Reading Past Truth: Under the Net and The Black Prince The Writing Cure: A Severed Head and A Word Child The Ambivalence of Coming Home: The Italian Girl and The Sea, the Sea Philosophy's Dangerous Pupil: Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals , Derrida, and The Philosopher's Pupil Postscript: Reading Iris Murdoch Notes Bibliography Index

'...lucid, insightful and well-documented.' - David Herman, Modern Fiction Studies

'...[Nicol] offers a fresh and valuable perspective on many of [Murdoch's 'retrospective fictions'] distinctive features...an interesting and lucid book about Murdoch's narrators, a subject that has not had proper attention...' - George Soule, The Iris Murdoch Newsletter

'Nicol's is an important voice in Murdoch criticism, at first glance maverick, but essentially original and challenging, and it is very good to have his study with us, brouglãÚ