Ready Reference Treatise: Under the Net

“Under the Net” was the first novel written by Iris Murdoch. It was published in 1954. The story is set in London and Paris.

The story of the novel revolves around a young struggling writer named Jake Donaghue.

Owing to its philosophical and the picaresque, “Under the Net” is said to be the most popular novel of Iris Murdoch.

The story is dedicated to Raymond Queneau. In the first chapter of the novel there is mention of two very famous books. The story is full of allusions and references to the novels of the past such as “Murphy” by Samuel Beckett, and “Pierrot Mon” by Queneau.

The story of “Under the Net” teems with the echoes of these two novels.