23 MARCH 1974, page 20

Iris Is No Pupil

Peter Ackroyd The Sacred And Profane Love Machine Iris Murdoch (Chatto and Windus £2.50) Miss Murdoch's only concession to modernity is the title of her latest novel,......

Time On Our Hands

Jonathan Raban The Private Future Martin Pawley (Thames and Hudson £2.75) It's a soft job, being a prophet. Unlike the present and the past, the future has a totali tarian......