Iris Murdoch, The Book and The Brotherhood

Tammy Grimshaw (Universidad de Jaen)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1987

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

A well-paced, dynamic novel,

The Book and the Brotherhood

addresses the themes of change and breakdown in society in the late twentieth century. The narrative opens at the Commen Ball at Oxford, during which Murdoch introduces the primary characters of the book. Jean Kowitz and Duncan Cambus have had a troubled and turbulent marriage. Throughout the evening, Jean dances with David Crimond, her former lover, who is an enigmatic writer and philosopher. Crimond's date for the evening is Lily Boyne, who has been secretly in love with him for some time. We meet Rose Curtland, Gerard Hernshaw and Jenkin Riderhood, friends of Jean, Duncan and Crimond, who were their Oxford contemporaries and, like their friends, are now middle-aged. Gulliver Ashe and Tamar Hernshaw, the somewhat younger members…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2044 words

Citation: Grimshaw, Tammy. "The Book and The Brotherhood". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10013, accessed 26 April 2024.]

Save this article