The Black Prince

Name: The Black Prince
ISBN: 9787532772490

艾丽丝·默多克 / 萧安溥 / 李郊Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaDec 2018

4.1

Word count: 315K words
Chapters: 11
ISBN: 9787532772490

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Britain's cleverest woman, Booker Prize winner and the most shortlisted author for the prize, delivers a masterpiece of emotional philosophy. The Black Prince is one of Murdoch's later works, highly acclaimed and also among her most difficult. The protagonist, a writer nearing sixty named Bradley, intends to escape the city for a rural retreat. On the eve of his departure, his ex-wife's brother arrives unexpectedly, and from that moment he is fatefully plunged into an endless nightmare: harassment by his ex-wife; his sister, abandoned by her husband, descending into madness; his old friend's wife developing feelings for him; and most irredeemably, at the core of the story, his taboo love affair with his old friend's daughter, which ultimately leads to his wrongful death in prison. In this novel, where philosophy and art are highly fused, the postmodern experimental techniques marked by textual self-deconstruction are worth studying and savoring. While constructing his own narrative world, the author deconstructs it through self-explanation or commentary, fabricating and puncturing the fiction at once, subverting the tradition of the author hiding behind the fictional world.

Editor's review

The Black Prince is a representative work by the renowned British novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch, published in 1973 and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. With its complex narrative structure, profound philosophical speculation, and exquisite portrayal of the subtleties of human nature, this novel occupies a unique place in contemporary literary history. The story unfolds through the first-person reminiscences of Bradley Pearson, a writer nearing sixty, recounting his intricate emotional entanglements with his friend Arnold Baffin and Arnold's wife Rachel, and how a sudden murder completely overturns everyone's lives. Murdoch skillfully weaves together themes of love, desire, jealousy, artistic pursuit, and moral responsibility, and through a multi-perspective postscript (written by different characters in the book) deconstructs the reliability of the narrative, leading readers to ponder the nature of truth and the power of storytelling.

As a writer deeply influenced by Platonic philosophy, Murdoch continues in The Black Prince to explore her core concerns: how individuals move toward goodness through 'attention' and 'love' amid the chaos of worldly life, and whether art can become a path to redemption. The title 'The Black Prince' both refers to the protagonist Bradley as a knight lost in darkness amid emotional turmoil and alludes to the epithet of Apollo, god of art, hinting at the tragic conflict between artistic creation and personal passion. Its language is dense and speculative, full of wit and irony, requiring patience and focus from the reader. This Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition offers an accurate translation that effectively conveys the original's complex and subtle stylistic features, providing Chinese readers with a reliable path to approach this profound literary master.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary enthusiasts interested in narrative technique and metafictional structure
Readers who enjoy deep psychological portrayal and complex character relationships
Readers seeking to understand the landscape of twentieth-century British literature and philosophical fiction
Those who can appreciate dense speculation and ironic language and are not afraid of challenging texts

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment or fast-paced plots
Readers impatient with extensive philosophical discussion and psychological monologue

Reading tips

While reading, note how the different characters' postscripts revise and subvert the main narrative, and appreciate the unreliability of storytelling.
Consider contrasting the protagonist Bradley's pursuit of 'pure art' with his chaotic personal life.
After reading, consult some commentary on Murdoch's philosophical thought (especially the concepts of goodness and attention) to deepen understanding.

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

版权信息
编辑罗克西亚斯前言
布拉德利·皮尔逊前言
黑王子——爱的庆典
第一部
第二部
第三部
布拉德利·皮尔逊后记
书中人物后记四篇
编辑罗克西亚斯后记
译后记

FAQ

Is The Black Prince a detective novel?

It contains a murder and investigative elements, but its core is not solving the case. Rather, it uses these as a framework to deeply explore characters' psychology, moral dilemmas, and the plasticity of narrative itself, so it is better classified as a philosophical/psychological novel.

Can I understand this book without a philosophy background?

Absolutely. Philosophical ideas are deeply embedded in the fabric of the story and the characters' conflicts; readers need no prior theoretical knowledge. By following the characters' emotional struggles and moral choices, you will reach the core concerns of the work.

How difficult is this book to read?

It is a challenging work of literature. The difficulty lies mainly in the complex narrative structure, dense psychological analysis, and dialogue rich in subtext. It is advisable to set aside ample reading time and maintain active thinking.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

艾丽丝·默多克 Author

Iris Murdoch is a British novelist known for her works of foreign literature, which are classified under foreign literature in the Chinese reading world. The library holds seven of her works, including The Sea, The Sea, The Black Prince, and The Unicorn. According to the library's records, these titles appear in multiple editions, indicating that her representative works continue to attract readers. Her writing generally revolves around human relationships, moral dilemmas, and self-knowledge; her plots carry a philosophical dimension, and her language is delicate, skillfully presenting the complex inner conflicts of characters within everyday settings. Public information about her life, education, and awards is limited, so no inferences are made here. Overall, Murdoch's works combine readability with intellectual reflection and offer a path toward understanding the moral and psychological themes of twentieth-century English literature.

萧安溥 Author

Xiao Anpu is an author about whom limited public information is available. The library currently holds two works under this name, both titled The Black Prince and commonly classified under foreign literature. Since basic details such as dates of birth and death, nationality, English name, and personal experience cannot be confirmed, it is difficult to outline the author's life, and the available material can only center on the works themselves. Judging from the titles and classification, the writing appears to lean toward strongly narrative foreign-literary subjects, possibly touching on themes of identity, power, or fate, though the actual content and style would need to be judged from the texts. The existence of two works with the same title also suggests that questions of edition or translated title remain to be clarified. Overall, Xiao Anpu's creative profile awaits further disclosure, and readers and researchers may begin with these two works, cautiously observing their thematic orientation and narrative features rather than drawing premature conclusions about the author's life or literary standing.

李郊 Author

Li Jiao is an author about whom very little public information is available. At present, it is known only that two of the author's works are held in the database, both representative titles being The Black Prince, and that the works are commonly classified under foreign literature. Because details such as birth and death dates, nationality and English name cannot yet be confirmed, little can be said about Li Jiao's personal history or the full scope of the writing. Judging from the existing records, Li Jiao's writing is connected with foreign literary subjects, and the same title appears more than once, possibly as different editions, translations or volumes, though the exact nature requires further bibliographic evidence. Readers interested in these works may use the title The Black Prince as a clue and consult them under the foreign literature category. Overall, Li Jiao's profile still awaits more public information; this introduction can offer only a limited account based on the records available and should not invite excessive speculation about the author's life, style or influence.