Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics

3 total works

The Bell

by Iris Murdoch

Published 1 January 1958

First published in 1958, Iris Murdoch's funny and sad novel is about religion, the fight between good and evil and the terrible accidents of human frailty. Encamped outside Imber Abbey, home of an enclosed order of nuns, is a community of very mixed-up people waiting for the installation of a new bell, but then the old one is rediscovered.

Nuns and Soldiers

by Iris Murdoch

Published September 1980

First published in 1980, a story of honour and innocence and about the vicissitudes of a deep friendship between two women.

A Fairly Honourable Defeat

by Iris Murdoch

Published 2 February 1970

An exploration of love and its excesses, missteps, and modest triumphs, from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea, The Sea

In a dark comedy of errors, Iris Murdoch portrays the mischief wrought by Julius, a cynical intellectual who decides to demonstrate through a Machiavellian experiment how easily loving couples, caring friends, and devoted siblings can betray their loyalties. As puppet master, Julius artfully plays on the human tendency to embrace drama and intrigue and to prefer the distraction of confrontations to the difficult effort of communicating openly and honestly.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.