'The Black Prince'
Iris Murdoch
Penguin Books
1973
414pp
This book won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1973. This was the author's 15th novel.
It consists mainly of a central story bookended by forewords and post-scripts from the characters in the story.
The central story is that of an ageing London author, Bradley Pearson. For years Bradley has been a friend and sort of patron of a younger and far more popular writer, Arnold Baffin. Deep down, he always dismissed Arnold as a shoddy writer who did not merit all this popularity, although this may have been mere rivalry.
Bradley is single since he has long been divorced. Arnold is married to Rachel and together they have a daughter, Julian. The parent couple are good friends of Bradley and often eat out together.
That is how the scene is set at the beginning after which in true Murdoch tradition, everything gets unravelled and turned around. Arnold phones Bradley worried he has killed his wife in a domestic row.
Meanwhile Bradley's former brother-in-law Francis Marloe comes bearing news that Christian, Bradley's ex-wife, wants to come back. And Bradley's depressed sister turns up having left her abusive husband and wants her brother to shelter her.
As if this is not enough, Bradley gets involved in a series of affairs with Rachel first and Julian later, the latter shocking the whole group.
The story moves to the inevitable climax but there's a coda which turns the story on its head and reverses what one thinks of the protagonists.
The name of the novel alludes mainly to Hamlet. In the postscript each interprets the action relating to him or her differently to a more or less selfish degree. They thus cast doubt not only on the veracity of the fiction that preceded it but also on themselves.
Chief among Murdoch's influences is the Shakespeare play Hamlet, many times openly referenced and discussed throughout the book. Bradley Pearson shares initials with the Black Prince.
Another influence is Sigmund Freud, especially in the frequent sexual imagery occasioned by the nearby (and, in those days, new) phallic Post Office tower.
And Bradley seems to admit to his homosexuality, along with Hamlet and Shakespeare. Both Julian and Christian are not only male in name but also the two towards whom Bradley is sexually attracted to.