Cover of The Nice and the Good

The Nice and the Good

by Iris Murdoch · 1968

+ Want to read

Iris Murdoch's richly peopled novel revolves round a happily married couple, Kate and Octavian, and the friends of all ages attached to their household in Dorset. The novel deals with love in its two aspects, the self-gratifying and the impersonal; - The Nice And The Good - as they are embodied in a fascinating array of paired characters. The Nice And The Goodleads through stress and terror to a joyous and compassionate Midsummer Nights Dreamconclusion, in which the couples all sort themselves out neatly and omnia vincit amor.

Genre
literary fictionliterary fictionMore like thisLess of thisromanceromanceMore like thisLess of thisBritish mysteryBritish mysteryMore like thisLess of thismysterymysteryMore like thisLess of this
Themes
womenwomenMore like thisLess of this
Setting
1960s1960sMore like thisLess of thisEnglandEnglandMore like thisLess of thisBritishBritishMore like thisLess of thisIrelandIrelandMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 362 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

BuyAmazonGoogle Books

BorrowOpen LibraryA library near you

MoreCompare pricesHardcover

Liked The Nice and the Good? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Nice and the Good. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Waterland Graham Swift · 1983 Shares fiction, literary fiction, literature
  2. Eva Trout Elizabeth Bowen · 1968 Shares fiction, classics, literary fiction
  3. The Dressmaker Beryl Bainbridge · 1973 Shares fiction, booker prize, literary fiction
  4. The Accidental Ali Smith · 2005 Shares fiction, literary fiction, booker shortlist
See more recommendations →

“People who read The Nice and the Good tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Blind Man with a Pistol Chester Himes · 1969
  2. The Public Image Muriel Spark · 1968
  3. The Children of Dynmouth William Trevor · 1976
  4. According to Mark Penelope Lively · 1984

“If you want more of the same (literary fiction about women), start with these.”

  1. Darkness Visible William Golding · 1979
  2. Free onlineFree The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith · 1766
  3. The Northern Clemency Philip Hensher · 2008
  4. The Village Marghanita Laski · 1952

“If it was the booker prize that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. An Awfully Big Adventure Beryl Bainbridge · 1989
  2. What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal] Zoe Heller · 2003
  3. On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan · 2007
  4. The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro · 1989

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Deeper Illusions Annie Jocoby · 2013
  2. The Good Marriage: How and Why Love Lasts Judith S. Wallerstein, Sandra Blakeslee · 1995
  3. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth Andrew Joseph White · 2023
  4. A Regency Christmas IV Mary Balogh, Marjorie Farrell, Sandra Heath, Emma Lange, Mary Jo Putney · 1992

Report a problem