''A Word Child'' is a novel by

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

. Published in 1975, it was her 17th novel. First published in 1975 by

Chatto and Windus Chatto & Windus is an imprint of Penguin Random House that was formerly an independent book publishing company founded in London in 1855 by John Camden Hotten. Following Hotten's death, the firm would reorganize under the names of his business ...

, ''A Word Child'' charts the trials and tribulations of the title character, the "word child", Hilary Burde as he attempts to recover his soul from the misery of his troubled past. Filled in the usual Murdoch style with an array of colourful, fully rounded characters who people Hilary's world, the novel is a complex and thoughtful exploration of the possibility and meaning of redemption, the nature of human memory, and the possibility of love for the tarnished soul. By turns stirring, witty, painful and joyous, the novel was received to great critical acclaim on its release.

References

1975 British novels Novels by Iris Murdoch Chatto & Windus books Novels set in London {{1970s-novel-stub