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The Black Prince
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
18 posts | 11 read | 35 to read
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.
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CarolynM
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Here‘s my #BookerDozen.
The Black Prince Iris Murdoch
Small World David Lodge
What‘s Bred in the Bone Robertson Davies
Moon Tiger Penelope Lively
The Van Roddy Doyle
Dirt Music Tim Winton
The Line of Beauty Alan Hollinghurst
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantell
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes
Hot Milk Deborah Levy
Autumn Ali Smith
Milkman Anna Burns
I was a bit embarrassed by how few I‘ve read when I went through the lists ☹️ Thanks for the idea Scott

BarbaraBB Well you did read some good ones! I LOVED The Black Prince and Moon Tiger! 9mo
BarbaraBB … and Milkman, Line of Beauty and Dirt Music! (edited) 9mo
Graywacke Moon Tiger! 🖤 9mo
See All 6 Comments
Ruthiella Great list! Iris Murdoch is such an interesting writer. I definitely have The Black Price on my TBR. 9mo
Centique Theres so many here i need to get to! This is a great reminder of great books ive missed 🙌 9mo
Reggie I loved Milkman so much. 9mo
59 likes6 comments
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Cathythoughts
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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This lovely book has just arrived in the post for me ... It from BD , I think from Australia.. I think I might guess the sender .... I‘m thrilled! Beautiful book ! Thankyou X

Tamra Arresting cover! 3y
TheBookHippie Wow that‘s pretty! 3y
batsy These editions are beautiful 😍 3y
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squirrelbrain That‘s gorgeous! ❤️ 3y
kspenmoll Beautiful cover!! 3y
LeahBergen So pretty! 3y
Nute Very pretty cover art! 3y
Cathythoughts @Nute it surely is ❤️ 3y
CarolynM Hurrah! It's arrived at last. Hope you enjoy😘 3y
Cathythoughts @CarolynM It did arrive at last 😁 yay ! Thanks so much it‘s a beauty & I‘m sure I will enjoy 👍🏻 Thankyou so much X 3y
BiblioLitten I love the Murdoch series book covers 3y
Cathythoughts @BiblioLitten Lovely cover on this one 👍💫 3y
70 likes13 comments
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GatheringBooks
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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GatheringBooks
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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jenniferw88
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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@Cinfhen

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the belated birthday present - it was very kind of you. I love everything (#covercrush!) and I was running low on stationery for #litsylove, so that will be very useful! (Haven't managed to go out to buy more because of covid). Your note made me laugh out loud and I still have a massive 😊 on my face since opening.

Cinfhen Yay!!!! It‘s very belated but still sent with best wishes 😘😘I‘m glad it FINALLY arrived 4y
Chrissyreadit I LOVE your stationary!!! @Cinfhen where did you find it? 4y
jenniferw88 @Chrissyreadit sorry, but I have to do this. You mean stationEry, not stationAry (think E for Envelopes and A for trains standing still at a station!) 😂😘 4y
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Cinfhen I ordered it through Amazon @Chrissyreadit I don‘t recall the vendor....I‘ll try to find it through my account page xx 4y
Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88 I‘m always ok with corrections! 4y
Chrissyreadit @Cinfhen thank you! 4y
Cinfhen Try this @Chrissyreadit SCStyle 32 Cute Lovely Kawaii Special Design Writing Stationery Paper with 16 pcs Envelopes 4y
77 likes8 comments
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LapReader
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Pickpick

Spoilt rotten by my friend @CarolynM The book is gorgeous and the chocolate was yummy. I hope your Xmas was lovely. Best wishes to you and your family ox

Rissreads Merry Christmas! How did you spend your day? I hope you had a good one ❤💚🌟🌲🌟💚❤ 5y
CarolynM Glad you're pleased with it. 🙂 I hope you had a very Merry Christmas with your family.😘🎄 5y
BarbaraBB Such a great book! 5y
MidnightBookGirl Looks delicious! 1pt! 5y
Lizpixie Has mine turned up yet? I sent it express overnight a week ago now. 5y
56 likes5 comments
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Cinfhen
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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#BookMail from the lovely @BarbaraBB ♥️Two books and an adorable keychain with some wonderful packets of tea have brightened my day. I haven‘t read either author before and I‘m excited to discover both books. The Coffee Trader will work for #ReadingEurope2020 which makes it even more special❣️Thank you so much my dear friend 😘 #LittensAreTheBest

batsy That Murdoch cover 😍 5y
CafeMom I loved the Black Prince. 5y
KarenUK How lovely! 💕 5y
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BarbaraBB The man on the key chain is Vincent Van Gogh 🤣. I am happy the books finally reached you! They are both from your tbr. The Black Prince is fantastic, IMO. I hope you will enjoy them! X 5y
LeahBergen That Murdoch cover! 😍 5y
LeahBergen @batsy I just read your above comment after posting the identical one. 😂😂 5y
Cinfhen Ha!!! It‘s Vincent ~ how cute!!!!! I love him 😍 thanks @BarbaraBB and yes, the cover of Black Prince is stunning @batsy @LeahBergen ♥️ 5y
Cinfhen It‘s so awesome to receive #BookMail @KarenUK It leaves me happy for days 🥰🥰🥰 5y
batsy @LeahBergen 😂😂 5y
Centique I love that cover too! 5y
86 likes1 stack add10 comments
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CarolynM
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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#ReadingResolutions #MultipleNarrators

There is really only one narrator, but at the end we get 4 short post scripts from other characters giving their versions of events. What is truth anyway?

BarbaraBB Loved this book 💕💕💕 6y
GatheringBooks sounds awesome! 6y
44 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
catebutler
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Pickpick

I appreciated all the philosophical musings about art and the creation of art throughout this book. Murdoch applies this theme in many of her novels, this one in particular seemed to be especially full of creative references, since it revolves around a writer.

For a memorable read with careful plotting, fully realised characters and attention to details, look no further. I highly recommend this literary masterpiece.

BarbaraBB Liked this book so much 💕 7y
catebutler @BarbaraBB It was fabulous! Really looking forward to reading more Murdoch. 7y
BarbaraBB Have you read The Sea, The Sea? That was one almost as good 7y
catebutler @BarbaraBB ‘The Black Prince‘ was my first Murdoch, but I think ‘The Sea, The Sea‘ will be the next one I read. Thank you for the recommendation! 7y
40 likes4 comments
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catebutler
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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This month I‘m reading my first Iris Murdoch novel, ‘The Black Prince‘. Murdoch wrote nearly a book every 18 months over four decades. In her writing she took on the most profound moral questions. The battle between good & evil, the possibility of faith & the death of God, the delightful & also destructive urges of erotic desire, intellectual obsession, & ultimately artistic creativity. Quite the literary feat!

#irismurdoch #theblackprince

BarbaraBB Loved this book 💜 7y
catebutler @BarbaraBB I can see why! I‘m thoroughly enjoying it so far. 😊 7y
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HotCocoaReads
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Pickpick

Well, I can‘t say I‘ve ever read anything like it before. Our narrator is stuffy, funny (although I‘m not sure he means to be), pretentious, ridiculous, and completely unreliable. But you can‘t help but root for him—until close to the end, when he started doing things I couldn‘t even try to understand and then he lost me. Still, he took me along for a pretty amazing ride. Recommended!

wanderlustforwords Can‘t beat the cover! 7y
19 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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SaraBeagle
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Can‘t decide what to read next. This is what is currently on my reading table: Faulkner, Waugh, Vonnegut, Murdoch, and Welty. All four are a part of some challenges or another.

KVanRead Great looking stack. My next challenge book is going to be Waugh-—Brideshead Revisited. But I‘d be tempted to go with the Vonnegut. Because Vonnegut 💜 7y
SaraBeagle @KVanRead Brideshead Revisited is my favorite Waugh! 7y
KVanRead @SaraBeagle That‘s great to know. It will be my first. Been meaning to get to forever as I loved the series with Jeremy Irons. Thank goodness for challenges 😊 7y
28 likes1 stack add3 comments
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BarbaraBB
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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B Black Prince, The
A Age of Innocence, The
R Remains of the Day, The
B Birdsong
A Anna Karenina
R Rebecca
A Anything is Possible

CarolynM What great choices! I love The Black Prince, definitely my favourite Iris Murdoch. 7y
Liz_M Oooh, The Black Prince. I guess I should read it soon. And Age of Innocence was my second choice for A. 7y
youneverarrived Rebecca and The Age of Innocence ❤️❤️ 7y
BarbaraBB @CarolynM Mine too. So good! You should definitely read it @Liz_M! 7y
52 likes4 comments
review
BarbaraBB
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Pickpick

I really loved this one. On forehand I had no idea what it was about, I just dived in and only came back to the surface after the last page.
And now I want to start all over again, because of all the twists. This book is a mind f***, I have no clue what happened and what didn't. Fiction at its best I think! #1001books #booker #manbooker

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MLRio
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch

Human happiness is rarely in the best of circumstances without shadows, and an almost pure happiness can be a terror to itself.

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MLRio
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch

Desire, still cosmic, was perhaps more like physical pain, like something one could die of quite privately in a corner. But I was not dismayed.

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MLRio
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch

Only art explains and cannot itself be explained. We and art are made for each other, and where that bond fails human life fails.

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MLRio
The Black Prince | Iris Murdoch
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Agreed.

AlexMay Omg just put two and two together. I got the Goodreads recommendations email and clicked on If We Were Villains out of all the fancy covers and have bookmarked it to read. And it's you from here! Nice! 8y
MLRio @AlexMay Yes it is! I hope you enjoy it. 8y
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