About
Iris Murdoch was a British novelist and philosopher born in Dublin. After studying at Oxford, she taught philosophy at St Anne's College. Her first novel, Under the Net, appeared in 1954. She wrote 26 novels, exploring moral complexities and human relationships. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1978 for The Sea, the Sea, she also authored major philosophical essays such as The Sovereignty of Good. Her work blends psychological realism with ethical reflection, influenced by Plato and Simone Weil. She died in 1999 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
* 1919-07-15 — † 1999-02-08
Major works
- Under the Net (1954)novel
- The Sovereignty of Good (1970)philosophical essay
- The Black Prince (1973)novel
- The Sea, the Sea (1978)novel
- Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals (1992)philosophical essay
Key milestones
- 1948Elected Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, teaching philosophy there until 1963.
- 1978Wins the Booker Prize for The Sea, the Sea, becoming the first Irish-born author to receive the award.
- 1987Appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
Themes
Moral attentionPlatonic realismComplexity of human relationshipsGood and evilArt and morality
Sources: some.ox.ac.uk · thebookerprizes.com · plato.stanford.edu