A Celebration of Dame Iris Murdoch

Today, we are celebrating what would have been the ninety-fourth birthday of one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth century, Iris Murdoch (pictured below). Over the course of forty years, Murdoch wrote twenty-six novels. Her writing is known for its rich characters, intellectual depth, and controversial topics such as adultery and incest.

In 1954, Murdoch published her first novel, Under the Net, about a struggling young writer in London. The Modern Library would later select it as one of the one hundred best English-language novels of the twentieth century, and Time magazine would list it among the one hundred best novels since 1923. Two years after completing Under the Net, Murdoch married John Bayley (pictured at right), an English scholar at the University of Oxford and a burgeoning author, himself. In a 1994 interview, Murdoch described her relationship with Bayley as “the most important thing in my life.” Bayley’s memoir about their relationship, Elegy for Iris, was made into the major motion picture Iris, starring Judi Dench and Kate Winslet, in 2001.

After her debut, Murdoch published a new book almost every year. She won the Royal Society Literary Award in 1987, and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1987 by Queen Elizabeth.

After a long struggle with Alzheimer’s, Murdoch passed away in 1999 at the age of seventy-nine.

In 2011, Open Road released a commemorative video featuring John Bayley. Watch as he recollects the emotional and intellectual life of his beloved Iris in this commemorative video.

Learn more: www.openroadmedia.com/iris-murdoch