Iris Murdoch

1919–1999

Irish-born British novelist and philosopher, born in Dublin and brought up in London. She read Greats at Somerville College, Oxford, and taught philosophy as a fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford, from 1948 to 1963. Her first novel, Under the Net (1954), was followed by many others, including The Bell, A Severed Head, The Black Prince and The Sea, the Sea, which won the 1978 Booker Prize. She was made a dame in 1987. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1997, she died in February 1999. The Book and the Brotherhood was shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize.

Timeline of Iris Murdoch’s life

Works

• The Good Apprentice (1985)
• The Book and the Brotherhood (1987)

Prizes

• The Book and the Brotherhood — The Booker Prize 1987: Shortlist
• The Good Apprentice — The Booker Prize 1985: Shortlist