Elizabeth Anscombe: defiantly brilliant, chain-smoking, trouser-wearing Catholic and (eventual) mother of seven.

Philippa Foot: pathalogically discreet, quietly rebellious granddaughter of a US president.

Mary Midgley: witty scholar and careful observer of humans and animals alike.

Iris Murdoch: aspiring novelist and Francophile with the power to seduce (almost) anyone.

Written with expertise and flair, Metaphysical Animals is a vivid portrait of the endeavours and achievements of these four remarkable women. As undergraduates at Oxford during the Second World War, they shared ideas (as well as shoes, sofas and lovers). From the disorder and despair of war, they went on to breathe new life into philosophy, creating a radically fresh way of thinking about freedom, reality and human goodness that is there for us today.

‘Evocative and sparkling’ New York Times

‘A triumph’ Mail on Sunday

‘In philosophy, one must start from scratch – & it takes a very long time to reach scratch’

Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgley, Philippa Foot and Elizabeth Anscombe were philosophy students at Oxford during the Second World War when most male undergraduates (and many tutors) were conscripted. Taught by refugee scholars, women and conscientious objectors, the four friends developed a philosophy that could respond to the war’s darkest revelations.

How, they asked, do we find our way through the devastation of what we have created? Not even the great thinkers of the past or the logical innovators and Existentialists of the early twentieth century could make sense of this new human reality. So, in search of an answer, the four friends set out to bring philosophy back to life.

Written with expertise and flair, Metaphysical Animals is a vivid blend of philosophy and recovered history – bringing back the women who shared ideas, as well as sofas, shoes and even lovers. Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman show how from the disorder and despair of the war, four brilliant friends reinvigorated philosophy and created a way of ethical thinking that remains with us today.