A dominant figure of postwar British literature, Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) wrote more than twenty-five novels, a collection of poems, and a half-dozen philosophical studies..In Understanding Iris Murdoch, Cheryl Bove divides Murdoch's work into two broad categories--the ironic tragedy and the bittersweet comedy--to examine the reasons why her work continues to attract such a large following. A writer of consistently readable novels who fashions gripping narratives and vivid characters, Murdoch presents readers with moral problems upon which she allows her audience to pass judgment. Bove summarizes Murdoch's work not as an effort to advance a cause, expand a philosophy, or portray a society, but to present human relationships and solve fictional problems of plot and theme.