A Fairly Honourable Defeat

London: Chatto and Windus, 1970. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Fine. 8" by 5.5". None. The first edition of this novel by Irish author, Iris Murdoch. 'A Fairly Honourable Defeat' was Murdoch's thirteenth novel. It regards the lives of several friends whose lives are thrown into disarray by one Julius King. The story hinges on a wager King makes with his ex-girlfriend Morgan that he can break up a homosexual couple, Axel and Simon. The consequences of this bet mirror outcomes in Shakespearean comedy. Moral theory and practice are central to this book with the characters representing Christ and evil. In addition to the wager Morgan and her brother-in-law are tricked into embarking on an affair and Morgan's nephew Peter is falling in love with her. Through this plot, Murdoch adopts Simone Weil's idea that evil is propagated in the world by the transmission of suffering from one person to another. In the original unclipped dustwrapper. 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, with the original unclipped dustwrapper. Externally, excellent with light fading to the head and tail of spine. The dustwrapper is also in an excellent condition with minor sunning to the spine. Prior owner's inscription to the recto of front endpaper, K Edgell, Februrary 1970. To rear pastedown the prior owner has written the page numbers they have reached. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Near Fine