London Novel

Under the Net 

by Iris Murdoch

“I took a deep breath, however, and followed my rule of never speaking frankly to women in moments of emotion. No good ever comes of this.”

― Iris Murdoch, Under the Net

Iris Murdoch's first novel, Under the Net, is full of wonderful characters, including writers, eccentrics, and a glamorous actress, but the character that stands out the most is London itself. The novel has a picaresque structure, with a series of episodes narrated in the first person by James Donaghue, aka Jake. Furthermore, London becomes the primary setting for the main character's adventures (particularly Holborn and the financial districts), with brief but significant scenes set in another great and enigmatic city, Paris.

London appears in numerous other ways, including philosophically. She wrote, "Some parts of London are necessary, while others are contingent." Murdoch, on the other hand, incorporates all of London into her novel, which revolves around her writer-hero, Jake Donaghue. Raymond Queneau was the recipient of the dedication. When Jake leaves Madge's flat in Chapter 1, he mentions taking two books: Murphy by Samuel Beckett and Pierrot mon Ami by Queneau, both of which appear in this story. Hugo Belfounder, another character, is based primarily on Wittgenstein's student Yorick Smythies. It appears that literary references abound, as in this example.
"...I like the women in James and Conrad's novels who are peculiarly flower-like and described as 'guileless, profound, confident, and trustful. That 'profound' is good: fluttering white hands, deep as the sea..." (p 28)

The novel's epigraph, taken from John Dryden's Secular Masque, describes how the main character's misunderstandings propel him from one location to another. Angus Wilson described it as "wine, women, and Wittgenstein." Overall, the novel is an exciting start to what will be a successful writing career.

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