The Sacred and Profane Love Machine (Penguin Books) - Softcover

"A novel of infinite variety and intelligence; the work of a novelist at the height of her powers."--Christopher Hudson "[Iris Murdoch] remains a consummate and sensual scene-painter."--Michael Ratcliffe in The Times (London)

Swinging between his wife and his mistress in the sacred and profane love machine and between the charms of morality and the excitements of sin, the psychotherapist, Blaise Gavender, sometimes wishes he could divide himself in two. Instead, he lets loose misery and confusion and--for the spectators at any rate--a morality play, rich in reflections upon the paradoxes of human life and the nature of the battle between sacred and profane love.