Abstract
Something Special was previously unpublished except in a 1950s anthology and in Japan, and rediscovered after her death. It is the only short story that Iris Murdoch ever wrote for publication. Set in Dublin, against the vividly recognisable backdrop of the writer's native city in the late fifties, Something Special is the story of Yvonne, an ordinary, bold young Irish woman who believes there's more to life than marriage to Sam, the respectable young man who's courting her. Written with verve and characteristic sly humour, it moves to a surprising climax and conclusion—a poignant, strangely haunting story about the incompatibility of dreams and desires.