The Black Prince

London: Chatto and Windus, 1973. First edition. Cloth. Very Good Indeed/Very Good Indeed. 8" by 5". None. The first edition of this novel by Irish author, Iris Murdoch. This is Murdoch's fifteenth novel, which eventually was released as a stage play. Prior owner's inscription to the recto of front endpaper, 'Julian Andrews'. Possibly the same Julian Andrews, head of the British council, who is referred to in Iris Murdoch's letters. Narratively, the work consists of a central story book-ended by forewords and post-scripts written by featured characters. It is a story about love, in the context of romantic love, an artist's inspiration, a love song to Shakespeare and much more. The main characters are Bradley Pearson, an elderly writer and his best friend, Arnold Baddin, a younger man. The work explores their complex relationship riddled with jealousy, fear, love, hate and misunderstanding. Iris Murdoch was a British novelist and philosopher, born in Ireland. Primarily her novels focus on themes of morality, spirituality and sexuality. A prominent philosopher, she is now increasingly accredited for her work in the field of philosophy, most notably her work on the reinterpretation of Aristotle and Plato, as well as her discussions of moral philosophy. In her lifetime Murdoch wrote 26 novels, as well of a series of short stories and several philosophical papers. In the original full cloth binding and held in original unclipped dustwrapper. Externally, smart with minor bumping to the head and tail of spine. A few light brown tidemarks to the top of the front board. Dustwrapper is very smart with just some light sunning to the spine and wrap edges. A few brown tidemarks, possibly from the spilling of tea, to the internals of wrap both to the flyleaf and to the front wrap at the head and tail. Internally, firmly bound. Tidemarks have affected the head of pastedown and to the recto of front endpaper. Pages are generally bright and clean. Light tidemark to the top edge and foredge. Very Good Indeed