Abstract

Iris Murdoch’s The Black Prince is narrated by a convicted felon named Bradley Pearson, looking back on his former adventures culminating in the death of the author Arnold Baffin. Bradley writes while in prison for Arnold’s murder, and between various speculative and philosophical remarks on Love and Art, Bradley relates a story that, if true, would make his conviction a miscarriage of justice. According to Bradley, Arnold was a victim of domestic violence, killed by his wife, Rachel. The fact that the police discovered Bradley standing by Arnold’s corpse and holding the murder weapon is apt to mislead, according to Bradley.For simple readers, the verdict of those who heard all the evidence in court might be..