“Writing is like getting
married. One should never commit oneself until one is amazed at one's
luck” – Iris Murdoch
Born in Ireland on July 15, 1919
Murdoch grew up in London and first made her writing “commitment” with a series of philosophical essays and the blockbuster novel Under the Net that catapulted her onto the
international literary scene in the early 1950s. The novel ultimately
was selected by both Time magazine and Modern
Library as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th
century.
Murdoch went on to produce 25 more
novels and many additional works of philosophy, poetry and drama, winning The
Booker Prize for The Sea, The Sea, The Whitbread Literary Award for
Fiction, and the James Tait Black Award for The Black Prince. Shortly
before her death in 1999, she was awarded the Golden PEN Award for "a
Lifetime's Distinguished Service to Literature.”
Her literary life was further honored by two memoirs from her husband John Bayley -- the books serving as the basis for the
movie Iris, featuring Kate Winslett and Judi Dench as the younger and
older Murdoch.
“We live in a fantasy world, a
world of illusion,” Murdoch wrote. “The great task in life is
to find reality”
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