The Black Prince (Vintage Classics Murdoch Series)

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

VINTAGE CLASSICS MURDOCH: Funny, subversive, fearless and fiercely intelligent, Iris Murdoch was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. To celebrate her centenary Vintage Classics presents special editions of her greatest and most timeless novels.

‘Every artist is an unhappy lover. And unhappy lovers want to tell their story.’

Ex-tax collector and author of two unpopular novels, Bradley Pearson wishes to devote his retirement to writing a masterpiece. But the doorbell and the phone keep ringing, and every ring brings with it an ex-wife, a friend in need, a sister in trouble or a young woman seeking a teacher, and so dusty, selfish Bradley is plunged into the muddles and mysteries which will end in his doom.

Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 1973.

© Iris Murdoch 1973 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

  • The book is so great, I almost feel it has magic powers. It’s tragic, comic, mysterious, thought-provoking and so much more than the sum of its parts. It manages to be both a great detective story and a great love story at the same time. It’s the only book I’ve ever read that feels as if it encapsulates all of life and the human experience.

    New York Times

  • 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

  • More than almost any other writer, she understands the currents beneath the surface: the way that inappropriate crushes, egotism, loathing, loneliness, can overcome apparently calm lives and leave disaster, even death, behind.

    Guardian

  • This is great Murdoch. It rings as clear as The Bell…her humour is all the more achingly funny because she keeps it on the edge of our vision

    Daily Mail

  • Iris Murdoch’s marvellous, heroic novel…A gloriously rich tale

    The Times

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