Iris Murdoch

Jean Iris Murdoch DBE (July 15, 1919 – February 8, 1999) was an Anglo–Irish writer and philosopher, best known for her novels, which combine rich characterization and compelling plotlines, usually involving ethical or sexual themes.

Biography

Murdoch was born in Dublin, Ireland. She read classics, ancient history, and philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford, and philosophy as a postgraduate at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she studied under Ludwig Wittgenstein. In 1948, she became a fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.

Related Topics:
Dublin, Ireland - Classics - Ancient history - Somerville College, Oxford - Newnham College, Cambridge - Ludwig Wittgenstein - St Anne's College, Oxford

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She wrote her first novel, Under The Net in 1954, having previously published essays on philosophy, including the first study in English of Jean-Paul Sartre. It was at Oxford in 1956 that she met and married Bayley, a professor of English literature and also a novelist. She went on to produce 25 more novels and other works of philosophy and drama until 1995, when she began to suffer the early effects of Alzheimer's disease, which she at first attributed to writer's block.

Related Topics:
Jean-Paul Sartre - Oxford - Alzheimer's disease - Writer's block

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Murdoch was awarded the Booker Prize in 1978 for The Sea, the Sea, a finely detailed novel about the power of love and loss, featuring a retired actor who is overwhelmed by jealousy when he meets his erstwhile lover after several decades apart.

Related Topics:
Booker Prize - Love - Jealousy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1987, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~