The Unicorn - by Iris Murdoch (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A brilliant mythical drama about well-meaning people trapped in a war of spiritual forces

Marian Taylor, who has come as a "companion" to a lovely woman in a remote castle, becomes aware that her employer is a prisoner, not only of her obsessions, but of an unforgiving husband.

Hannah, the Unicorn, seemingly an image of persecuted virtue, fascinates those who surround her, some of whom plan to rescue her from her dream of redemptive suffering. But is she an innocent victim, a guilty woman, a mad woman, or a witch? Is her spiritual life really some evil enchantment? If she is forcibly liberated will she die? The ordinary, sensible people survive, and are never sure whether they have understood.

Review Quotes

"Miss Murdoch has taken the stock elements of the Gothic novel and wrung hell out of them. . . . A strange combination of fairy tale and blood-and-thunder."--Books and Bookmen

About the Author

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) was born in Dublin and brought up in London. She studied philosophy at Cambridge and was a philosophy fellow at St. Anne's College for 20 years. She published her first novel in 1954 and was instantly recognized as a major talent. She went on to publish more than 26 novels, as well as works of philosophy, plays, and poetry.