A. S. Byatt, Degrees of Freedom

Emma Victoria Miller (University of Durham)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1965

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)

Resources

Degrees of Freedom was the first book length critical work on the fiction of Iris Murdoch when it was published in 1965; it considers the first eight novels of her oeuvre. The title and the central premise of the work were taken from Murdoch’s article “Against Dryness” (1961). However, to have previously read and understood Murdoch’s essay is not entirely necessary to reading and understanding Byatt’s commentary, especially as the introduction to Byatt’s work explores Murdoch’s views in “Against Dryness”; indeed, Byatt’s approach is eminently accessible to both new readers of Iris Murdoch, as well as the more advanced student of literature. However, to know Murdoch’s purpose and how Byatt has utilised it is t…

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1193 words

Citation: Miller, Emma Victoria. "Degrees of Freedom". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5666, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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