Search - Elegy for Iris

A loving tribute by the husband of Iris Murdoch, noted author, whose wife of many years, is stricken with Alzheimers Disease. Not at all depressing, quite the contrary, and his love for her is strengthened. Anyone who has a loved one or friend that has dealt with this disease will find it moving and less fearful. A life and it,s changing patterns and at the same time a celebration of life. A caregiver,s experience and one to treasure. I never saw the movie based on this book, but look forward to doing so now. GinaK

John Bayley, a literary critic who taught at Oxford, writes his own book about his love for his wife and her descent into her own world due to Alzheimer's disease. This book feels like a wonderful conversation with a wise friend.

The intimate and insightful account of the marriage of two British intellectuals, the philosophical novelist Iris Murdoch, and the eminent academic, literary critic, and writer John Bayley. Reading this account by the widower Bayley reveals how and why the marriage succeeded and endured for decades, in part because neither partner demanded concessions from the other's individual integrity, as artist, or as scholar. Bayley's musings about the changes Alzheimer's disease caused in his brilliant novelist-wife are poignant to read. He is forthright about the vexations that led to occasional outbursts on his part, but even when he recounts such moments, the reader can plainly understand that his love is unfaltering, and so it remained, to the end. Iris Murdoch died in February of 1999.