Iris Murdoch and Elias Canetti: Intellectual Allies (Studies in Comparative Literature)

Since the revelation of Iris Murdochs (1919-1999) affair with Elias Canetti (1905-1994), scholarship on their relationship has been largely biographical, focusing in particular on Canettis alleged role as the real-life model for some of Murdochs most invidious protagonists. Little research, however, has been done on the extensive common ground between the two writers literary projects. In this groundbreaking comparative study, Elaine Morley conducts a careful philological comparison of Murdochs and Canettis works, from their literary themes and theories to their idiosyncratic stylistic practices. Morley demonstrates that these authors were preoccupied with a common philosophical problem, and that they were in fact not only personally close, but also more intellectually allied than has been previously thought.