The Italian Girl

London: Chatto and Windus, 1964. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good. 8" by 5.5". Reynolds Stone. The first edition of this novel by Irish author, Iris Murdoch. This novel follows the protagonist Edmund, who escaped from his family to a lonely life. He returns following his mother's funeral and finds himself back where he started in the same problems. It is here that he rediscovers the family servant, the 'Italian Girl' and the novel traces their relationship. Thematically, the novel deals with resolution and redemption. It has been regarded as a form of morality play where good replaces evil. With wood engravings to the title page and to page 215 by Reynolds Stone. 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. excellent with just some minor bumping to the head and tail of spine as well as to the extremities. Dustwrapper is smart. Patches of light rubbing tot he joints and spine. Loss to the head and tail of spine due to chipping. Sunning to the spine. Age toning to the edges. Small hole to the front joint. Spotting internally to the wrap and externally to the spine and rear wrap. Minor offsetting to endpapers. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are generally bright. Scattered spotting to the foredge, affecting the occasional page edge. Otherwise, pages are generally bright. Near Fine