1995 Jackson's Dilemma

Description

First Edition, Original Binding, Publishers' Original Binding, With Dustwrapper

First edition, third impression. The author's last novel. The preparations are underway for the wedding of Edward Lannion and Marian Berran. Friends and family gather and wander the grounds under the stars, then occurs a most remarkable event. In her final years, Murdoch was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, one of the symptoms of which is a reduced vocabulary and decreased word fluency. Researchers at University College London found that the language used in this piece is noticeably simpler than in her earlier works. They suggested that the novel offers a "unique opportunity" to study the effects of Alzheimer's on spontaneous writing and changes in cognitive ability. Written by Dame Jean Iris Murdoch, an Irish and British novelist and philosopher best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious.