Editions

An Accidental Man

An Accidental Man

This is the story of the comic, relentless struggle for survival of Austin Gibson Grey, the accidental man. Austin is one of those people who thrives through the destruction of others. The others, in Austin's case, include his successful elder brother, Matthew, and the women who, one after the other, are convinced that they can 'save' him. In this role we meet Dorina, Austin's estranged wife, Mitzi, his alcoholic landlady, and a selection of other women who involve themselves in Austin's fate, with hilarious and appalling results.

Reviews

  • Iris Murdoch is incapable of writing without fascinating and beautiful colour

    The Times

  • Iris Murdoch was one of the best and most influential writers of the twentieth century

    Peter Conradi, Guardian

  • A distinguished novelist of a rare kind

    Kingsley Amis

  • Behind her books one feels a power of intellect quite exceptional in a novelist

    Sunday Times

  • Iris Murdoch really knows how to write, can tell a story, delineate a character, catch an atmosphere with deadly accuracy

    John Betjemen

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About the Author

Iris Murdoch

Iris Murdoch was born in Dublin in 1919. She read Classics at Somerville College, Oxford, and after working in the Treasury and abroad, was awarded a research studentship in Philosophy at Newnham College, Cambridge. In 1948 she returned to Oxford as fellow and tutor at St Anne’s College and later taught at the Royal College of Art. Until her death in 1999, she lived in Oxford with her husband, the academic and critic, John Bayley. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 and in the 1997 PEN Awards received the Gold Pen for Distinguished Service to Literature. Iris Murdoch made her writing debut in 1954 with Under the Net. Her twenty-six novels include the Booker prize-winning The Sea, The Sea (1978), the James Tait Black Memorial prize-winning The Black Prince (1973) and the Whitbread prize-winning The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (1974). Her philosophy includes Sartre: Romantic Rationalist (1953) and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (1992); other philosophical writings, including 'The Sovereignty of Good' (1970), are collected in Existentialists and Mystics (1997).

Iris Murdoch

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Recommendations

The best pubs in literature

With a bank holiday approaching and no open pubs in sight, Rob Crossan rounds up the finest literary ones to indulge in, instead.
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Recommendations

Where to start reading Iris Murdoch's books

Funny, subversive, fearless and fiercely intelligent, Iris Murdoch was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. To celebrate the centenary of her birth, here's our guide to help you pick which Murdoch book to read first – or last!
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Extracts

Living on Paper by Iris Murdoch

It is hard for us to imagine Iris Murdoch submitting her first novel – and not even having a title for it – but here, you can read the letter that accompanied the manuscript of Under The Net

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