is the last of Iris Murdoch's twenty-six novels published in 1995, forty years after her first,

(1954). It received puzzled, as well as mixed reviews. By the beginning of 1997, an article confirming that Murdoch was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease had appeared in

(Feb 4th 1997). John Bayley's memoirs,

(1998) and

(1999), reveal that “the first symptoms declared themselves” as early as 1993-4, and it is clear that she was struggling to write this final novel in a state of increasing mental distress and disability. Scientists investigating the nature of Alzheimer's Disease are analysing

in comparison with Murdoch's early and mature novels. The novel clearly manifests the kind of…

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Citation: White, Frances Clare Patricia. "Jackson's Dilemma". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 September 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4373, accessed 27 November 2024.]