The Sea, the Sea; A Severed Head: Introduction by Sarah Churchwell

nThese two major novels--by one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century--are ferociously dark comedies that combine playfulness with profundity. nA Severed Head (1961) is one of Iris Murdoch's most entertaining works, tracing the turbulent emotional journey of Martin Lynch-Gibbon, a smug, prosperous London wine merchant and unfaithful husband, whose life is turned inside out when his wife leaves him for her psychoanalyst. The story takes bedroom farce to a new level of sophistication, with scenes that are both wickedly funny and emblematic of the way momentous moral issues play out in everyday life. n nThe Booker Prize-winning The Sea, the Sea (1978) is set on the edge of England's North Sea, where egotistical Charles Arrowby, a big name in London's glittering theatrical world, has retreated into seclusion to write his memoirs. Arrowby's plans begin to unravel when he encounters his long-lost first love and finds himself increasingly besieged by his own fantasies, delusions, and obsessions. n nBoth novels are tragicomic masterpieces that brilliantly dramatize how much our lives are governed by the lies we tell ourselves and by the all-consuming need for love, meaning, and redemption. n nIntroduction by Sarah Churchwelln