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Iris Murdoch
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The Black Prince (Penguin Classics) Paperback – March 1, 2003

by Iris Murdoch (Author), Martha C. Nussbaum (Introduction)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 464 ratings
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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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    408 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2003
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    5 x 1 x 7.7 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0142180114
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0142180112
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

"An entertainment, but also a profoundly great work of art . . . It’s hard to keep my enthusiasm for it quiet—it’s such a delightful and deep book at the same time." ―John Williams, The New York Times Book Review (podcast)

"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

About the Author

Dame Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) was one of the most acclaimed British writers of the twentieth century. Very prolific, she wrote twenty-six novels, four books of philosophy, five plays, a volume of poetry, a libretto, and numerous essays before developing Alzheimer's disease in the mid-1990s. Her novels have won many prizes: the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Black Prince, the Whitbread Literary Award for Fiction for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine, and the Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea. She herself was also the recipient of many esteemed awards: Dame of the Order of the British Empire, the Royal Society of Literature's Companion of Literature award, and the National Arts Club's (New York) Medal of Honor for Literature. In 2008, she was named one of the Times' (London) 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

Martha C. Nussbaum, one of America’s most prominent philosophers and public intellectuals, is a professor of classics and law at the University of Chicago.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (March 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 408 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0142180114
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0142180112
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 1 x 7.7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 464 ratings

About the author

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Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch

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Iris Murdoch (1919–1999) was one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century. She was awarded the 1978 Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea, won the Royal Society Literary Award in 1987, and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth. Her final years were clouded by a long struggle with Alzheimer's before her passing in 1999.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
464 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Skevos Mavros
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific thriller/love story written by a philosopher, but fine for a casual reader.
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2020
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This was my first time reading an Iris Murdoch novel, and it won't be my last. She has managed to create a central character, the writer and former tax man Bradley Pearson, who possesses many unforgivable flaws, yet this reader was still (mostly) able to sympathise with him. This is partly because Murdoch surrounds poor doomed Bradley with other equally flawed characters that inflict suffering upon him. Naturally, at every plot turn Bradley could have made much better decisions, but his foolishness only increased my sympathy for him.

It is hard to go much further in this review without spoiling several moments of this thriller/love story, but what I will say is that the sections in the novel that digress away from the plot to explore Bradley's philosophical musings on life, art, love, and writing are, in my humble opinion, just long enough to be interesting but not long enough to be infuriating. No one will agree with everything the novel has to say on these topics, but Bradley's/Murdoch's insights are pretty consistently interesting.

I particularly enjoyed the postscripts at the end of the novel, five of them written by other characters from the novel. These postscripts provide, depending on your opinion of Bradley, corrective points of view to his version of events, or yet more evidence that the people in his life were self-centred narcissists. Both, of course, could be true.

Technical kindle stuff : This kindle edition only had a tiny number of typos, which is pretty good these days - so many pre-digital novels are riddled with typos when converted to kindle these days, so this conversion of an early 1970's novel was clearly done with care.

My only real quibble is with an odd error in the edition I bought on kindle. The kindle store said the introduction was written by Sophie Hannah (it still says this), but after buying and downloading I see that the introduction in my edition was actually written by Candia McWilliam. I enjoyed Ms McWilliam's introduction, but it was an odd error to see from an established publisher. Is there another edition floating around in the virtual kindle shelves?
6 people found this helpful
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Cameron Preston Kruger
4.0 out of 5 stars A Wild Ride
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2023
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Murdoch has carefully constructed a multidimensional literary puzzle in "The Black Prince." With multiple narrators and completely unexpected plot twists, the reader will find himself or herself unmoored but enjoying a wild ride, as the author deliveres one unexpected and hilarious or moving scene after another.
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Steven E. Sanderson
5.0 out of 5 stars Art, Truth, Love, Murder and Narcissism
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2018
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This is a classic work, dealing with the meaning of life, of personal relationships, the inability of an individual to understand his life or his connection to others, and the fundamental dishonesty with which people make their way in the world. Murdoch writes beautifully, evoking the eternal verities, even as she populates her book with self-seeking ninnies. Bradley Pearson tells the story, and the story is about himself: neurotic, puritan, naive, and weak. He is so convincingly tiresome that the book begins to flag toward the end of Part Two. That itself may have been one of the many strokes of brilliance Murdoch has in store. A strange, powerful read.
10 people found this helpful
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Roland Droitsch
3.0 out of 5 stars EVENTUALLY THE PART ABOUT HOW THE MAIN CHARACTER (58 YEARS OLD) FALLS IN LOVE WITH A YOUNG LADY (20 YEARS OLD) IS A ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2014
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THIS IS A DIFFICULT BOOK TO DESCRIBE. THERE ARE PARTS THAT I FEEL ARE TOO LONG AND DETAILED BUILDING UP THE BOOKS CHARACTERS. EVENTUALLY THE PART ABOUT HOW THE MAIN CHARACTER (58 YEARS OLD) FALLS IN LOVE WITH A YOUNG LADY (20 YEARS OLD) IS A PART OF THIS BOOK THAT I FIND INTERESTING. THERE IS A BIT OF "LOLITA" IN IT, BUT THE YOUNG LADY JULIAN PARTICIPATES STRONGLY IN THIS "AFFAIR". THEN THE END COMES WITH HIS BEING ACUSED OF A MURDER( WHICH HE DID NOT COMMIT, AND HE IS SENT TO JAIL WHERE HE EVENTUALLY DIES. HENCE THERE WERE PARTS THAT I LIKED, BUT OTHERS NOT. IT IS A LONG BOOK AND I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT IF YOU ARE SEEKING CONTINUOUS ACTION.
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Carolyn
4.0 out of 5 stars What fun!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022
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I thought it was about time I read an Iris Murdock novel. It was fun through and through. The writing is wonderful and although it may feel a bit dated to some of us it was a sheer delight. I read every word right up to the shocking end
8 people found this helpful
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FMM
5.0 out of 5 stars Iris Murdoch Classic
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2015
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The introduction could scare away some timid readers but the book is a joy to read. The characters are surprising and entertaining and there is a lot of "dark" humor in the book. What a pleasure to read something so well written. Reading this book caused me to buy her Booker Prize winner which is one of my next to read.
4 people found this helpful
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Kathryn S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Ever Read, Hands Down.
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2014
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There is not one boring page in this book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a book that's a great narrative, but also has wonderful insights that could be said of anyone or anything. Pay attention to the structure, and read the preface and afterwords (THE BOOK DOES NOT END ON THE LAST PAGE, BUT AFTER THE AFTERWORD)
4 people found this helpful
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Christin M. Mulligan
2.0 out of 5 stars Maudlin Nabokov Knockoff
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2015
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Granted, I did not pick this book, but I did blindly and eagerly consent based on the fact that I had heard of Murdoch's work and as a result of my experience with other British/Irish women novelists being so rich and rewarding, assumed I would love it. Oh, folly! Iris Murdoch is a philosopher (and a lover of Sartre, worst offender of all, if you ask me), and I generally make it a rule never to read the novels of philosophers because they know s*** about character development and even less about plot. Now, mind, as a lover of Joyce and Woolf, I can worship and venerate a plotless novel like it's my job (which it kind of is) as long as there is some lyricism and some wordplay. Not so <i> The Black Prince </i>. Now, all the faux editorial prefaces and postscripts would suggest that I am supposed to hate Bradley and feel that the narrative has no centre. But I hated everyone from the vacillating, talentless Baffins to whining homosexual stereotype Francis Marloe. It's 1973: take a Valium, see a therapist. As such, I resented the hell out of this novel: its endless pontificating on art and existentialism, its mangling of Shakespeare and Dante, its endless reliance on Freudian paradigms only to ridicule them ex-post-facto. I don't see how creating a cast of miserable, despondent, self-obsessed people merits a place on the Booker Shortlist. I learned nothing from this book and will never read her again. It could've done with a lot more preface/postscipts and a lot less novel. Bottom line: lame.
11 people found this helpful
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James Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars Comedy of manners
Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2021
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Despite its smaller size, this is a novel and edition with a lot of presence. It's so well-made it's a pleasure to hold and to read. I like it more and more every dey.
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Henry the Hedgehog
5.0 out of 5 stars What a book, my Word, what a book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2020
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It is the best novel I have read. Deep and brilliant. Iris Murdoch rises up into a class above her other works.
It is about love and illusions.
Written in four parts, the first part (which is half the book) is outstanding in its use of language and poetic concepts. The second part is a meditation on love, which some might not appreciate. The third part is indescribably thrilling and grips a part of you that never existed before having read the second part. The 4th part is the denouement that smashes illusions with illusions.
And all the while there is a penetrative description of life; the complexities of our ordinary lives brought out into awful conscious truth. To be read behind the sofa with eyes nearly shut. It's about you and me and everyone who has ever loved another to the edge of insanity.
There are parts that I couldn't follow, but they fascinate me enough to read it all again with a reference book beside me. I delighted in the philosophical parts of it that explored the ground of our Being. It seems to be written by a male, but of course, it's not. She writes about women which a Western man would never be 'allowed' to write these days.
Although it is 'dark', in that it reveals terrible truths of living, it is a work of genius that very few authors are capable of achieving.

(Although life as a hedgehog can be prickly at times, it is much less complicated and unembellished than a human's lot in the Murdoch world.)
9 people found this helpful
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Leni
4.0 out of 5 stars For Murdoch fans
Reviewed in India on September 26, 2017
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My second novel from Iris Murdoch and she delivers. I did make the mistake of first reading the ending postscripts (a bad habit of mine)which changed my opinion of Bradley. Although some parts were draggy I highly enjoyed the delusional protagonist who may or might not have been telling the truth albeit a skewed version of the truth afterall. If you enjoy Murdoch this is highly recommended.
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it!
Reviewed in France on April 6, 2012
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J'adore Iris Murdoch, son ecriture est si precise et imaginative! Encore un de ces bons romans ou l'on retrouve ses themes favoris: l'amour, la beauté, l'argent, l'ascension sociale, la culture.
One person found this helpful
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ES in London
4.0 out of 5 stars Unlike anything I have ever read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2021
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At times very funny, this book has left me thinking. I enjoyed it, the writing is deft and fluent. Murdoch captures several times of voice brilliantly as the plot swerves around, taking our sympathies on a journey. My loyalties shifted several times and I found this quite entertaining in itself. Excellent writing and has an ending that will surprise.
One person found this helpful
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