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Brief biography of Anglo-Irish author, philosopher, and playwright Iris Murdoch, an important writer of her generation, known for The Bell and Under the Net.
Jean Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) was a British novelist, philosopher and playwright. She wrote many books on philosophy, aside from novels and plays. Her novel The Sea, the Sea (1978) won her the Booker Prize. In recognition of her work she was made a Dame in 1987. Early Life of Iris MurdochMurdoch was born in Dublin, Ireland, but was brought up in England. Her mother was Irish and her father English. She studied philosophy and the classics at Oxford University, at the same time she wrote novels about free will and the relationship of good and evil. After graduating from Oxford University, she worked for the United Nations as an administrative officer. From 1948 to 1963 she taught philosophy at Oxford. In 1956, she married the novelist and critic John Bayley. Murdoch's Writing: Novels, Philosophical Works and PlaysMurdoch's first book was about philosophy. She began writing stories as a hobby, and her first novel, Under the Net, came out when she was 35. It was an instant success, and she followed it with over 20 other books as well as more philosophical works. The Bell, whose subject is an unofficial religious community, is regarded as one of her best novels. A Severed Head, first published as a novel, was turned into a play with the help of J.B. Priestley, a prominent 20th-century writer. She later wrote several more plays. Murdoch's novels combine realistic characters at the same time as delving into the fantastic realm, many of them with a philosophical or a religious theme. For instance, The Time of the Angels features a priest in an inner-city parish who goes in for devil worship. Some critics describe her novels as 'psychological detective stories' because of the way in which they investigate in-depth the motives and consequences of the characters' behavior. Final YearsMurdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1996. Her husband, novelist John Bayley, took care of her and wrote about their marriage in Elegy for Iris. She died at the age of 79, on February 8, 1999. Books by Iris Murdoch
Sources:Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers, 2002 Dictionary of Writers, edited by Rosemary Goring, Larousse, 1994 The Cambridge Literature in English, New Edition, edited by Ian Ousby,Cambridge, 1993
The copyright of the article Iris Murdoch Biography in Great Writers is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Iris Murdoch Biography in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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