John Bayley, who was married to Iris Murdoch for over 40 years, has written one of the most extraordinary memoirs of recent years. With great compassion he recreates their passionate love affair and poignantly describes the mask that ineluctably descended over Iris' being with the progression of her Alzheimer's disease. It was Bayley's accomplishment to find the glimmers of Iris' old self that broke through the barriers of her disease, and to share...

Rudyard Kipling's epic rendition of the imperial experience in India is also his greatest long work. Born in India and growing into early manhood, Kim is the son of an Irish soldier born under British Imperial rule in 19th century India. Left in the care of a half-caste woman, Kim is free to explore the back allies and bazaars of Lahore. But when he meets with his father's old regiment he trades his native clothes for European suits and abandons his...

Adapted from the memoirs of literary critic John Bayley, the film recounts his courtship of and long marriage to British novelist Iris Murdoch. The scenario tacks back and forth from the young Iris--ready to seduce one and all with her coy command of words and sex appeal--to the elder Iris--slowly giving way to the cruel erasure of Alzheimer's.