Book Review: how four women formed a theory on human life in WW2

These philosophers’ ideas are described in Metaphysical Animals, as a ‘counter-narrative which connects contemporary philosophy with the great speculative metaphysicians of the 19th and early 20th centuries’.

Known for her novels on good and evil and morality, Iris Murdoch is one of four women at the centre of this book.

• Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life
• Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman 
• Chatto and Windus, €16.99 pb