Ninety-Nine Novels: The Bell by Iris Murdoch

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and other special guests.
In this episode, Graham Foster of the Burgess Foundation talks to Avril Horner about The Bell by Iris Murdoch, a novel Burgess calls ‘intensely poetic’ and ‘beautifully organised’.
First published in 1958, The Bell tells the story of Dora Greenfield, an impulsive young woman, who moves with her husband to a lay religious community in the grounds of Imber Abbey. There, she discovers an old bell at the bottom of a lake, and sets in motion events that will expose secret desires and lead to tragic consequences.
Avril Horner is Emeritus Professor of English at Kingston University, London. She specialises in women’s writing and gothic literature and has published widely on authors such as Daphne du Maurier, Edith Wharton, and Iris Murdoch. Her latest book is Living on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch 1934-1995, which she edited with Anne Rowe, with whom she has also edited books on Iris Murdoch and morality and the texts and contexts of Iris Murdoch. She is currently working, with Sue Zlosnik on the book Comic Gothic, which will be released by Edinburgh University Press in 2023.
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BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
By Iris Murdoch:
Under the Net (1954)
The Flight from the Enchanter (1956)
The Sandcastle (1957)
A Severed Head (1961)
The Unicorn (1963)
The Time of the Angels (1966)
The Nice and the Good (1968)
A Fairly Honourable Defeat (1970)
The Sovereignty of Good (1970)
The Black Prince (1973)
The Sea, The Sea (1978)
Nuns and Soldiers (1980)
The Book and the Brotherhood (1987)
The Message to the Planet (1989)
Existentialists and Mystics (1997)
By others:
The Need for Roots by Simone Weil (1952)
The Notebooks of Simone Weil (1954)
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns (1954)
The Skin Chairs by Barbara Comyns (1962)
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (2016)
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LINKS
Living on Paper: Letters from Iris Murdoch 1934-1995, ed by Avril Horner and Anne Rowe: www.penguin.co...
The Iris Murdoch Society: irismurdochsoc...
International Anthony Burgess Foundation: www.anthonyburg...
The theme music is Anthony Burgess's Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor. It is performed by No Dice Collective, who can be found here: nodicecollectiv...
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You can join the conversation and tell us which 100th book you would add to Burgess's list by using the hashtag #99Novels on Twitter.
If you have enjoyed this episode, why not leave us a review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

[@clarkson64]

This was fascinating and illuminating. Thank you

[@johnsharman7262]

Question: was Burgess a good novelist? Murdoch invested in the novel form and explored ideas of goodness and desire. Burgess was experimental , exploring through language more than content, his
experiences, but could he write a good novel? Like Flann O'Brien he attracts lots of outsiders to English fiction, a new way of looking at things. I think Murdoch inhabits a greater place in fiction. Burgess was a
better critic of fiction.

[@nledaig]

Her name ends in "'ch" not "-k"

[@beanosnico4487]

Thank you so much for this. I have learned a lot and enjoyed greatly.

[@thecuriousnerd6801]

Hi can you please share the name of the music at the beginning at the video ?

[@anthony_burgess]

Yes, of course. The theme music is Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor by Anthony Burgess. It is played by No Dice Collective. It’s not available commercially, but you can listen to the whole piece as part of No Dice’s virtual concert at the Burgess Foundation from 2021 here: ruclips.net/video/R3o7HJqnfhk/видео.htmlfeature=shared

[@thecuriousnerd6801]

@anthony_burgess many thanks mate!

[@seto749]

Did the guest think Julius was making a serious attack on Simon and Axel? I always wondered how much to believe his telling Tallis that was only a blind to distract Morgan as he pushed her into involvement with Rupert.