The Unicorn
by Iris Murdoch
1963 /319 pages
rating 7 / 20th cent. fiction – UK
(I read this back in June but it slipped out of the posts.) 

Once upon a time, somewhere west of Ireland there lived a beautiful young woman who was trapped in a mansion called Gaze by her raging husband. He was angry because she had had an affair and during a quarrel she had pushed him off a cliff. But he survived and went away leaving bodyguards and servants to assure she could never escape. The woman’s name was Hannah, backwards and forwards. She was golden-haired and golden-eyed and seemed to live in a golden world by the sea. But gold is neither good nor bad, but perhaps it is both – is that possible?

Toward the end of seven years Marion, a new tutor/companion for Hannah, came to Gaze. Now living in the house at Gaze were Gerald the main bodyguard, Jamsie Evercreech his helper, Violet Evercreech Hannah’s secretary, Denis Nolan the business clerk, and some servants. The first part of the book is told. from Marion’s point of view. >>>>MORE>>>>