Letters from Iris Murdoch to Hal Lidderdale
TitleLetters from Iris Murdoch to Hal Lidderdale
ReferenceKUAS78
Date
1945- c. 1990s
Production date 1945-01-01 - 1995-12-31
Scope and ContentLetters from Iris Murdoch to Hal Lidderdale dating from 1945 to 1990s. Lidderdale was a friend od Murdoch's from Oxford, and they remained in touch until Lidderdale's death. Topics covered in the letters include Murdoch's work with the UNRRA, meeting Jean Paul Sartre, her brief engagement to David Hicks, and later work and travelling.
Extent1 file
Physical descriptionSome of the early letters are fragile- careful handling required.
Persons keyword Iris Murdoch, 1919-1999, author, Hal Lidderdale, 1911-1992, editor, David Hicks, d. 1991, friend of Iris Murdoch, Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980, philosopher, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA)
SubjectCorrespondence, Second World War, Travelling, Philosophy
Admin. history/BiographyIris Murdoch was born in Dublin, Ireland on 15 Jul 1919. When she was very young Iris and her parents moved to London, where Iris attended the Froebel Institute in Roehampton and Badminton School in Bristol. She followed this with studies in classics, ancient history and philosophy at Oxford, and further study at Cambridge. During the Second World War Murdoch worked for HM Treasury in London and then joined the UNRRA, providing relief in formerly occupied countries in Europe. In 1948 she became a fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford, where she taught and researched philosophy.
Iris Murdoch wrote a number of tracts on philosophy, however it is for her novels that she is best known. She wrote 26 novels in total, her first being 'Under the Net' published in 1954. Other notable works include 'The Bell' and 'The Sea, the Sea', for which she won the Booker Prize in 1978. Her final novel, 'Jackson's Dilemma', was published in 1995.
Iris Murdoch had romantic relationships with a number of individuals. She met author and scholar John Bayley while at Oxford and they married in 1956.
Later in life Murdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the first effects of which she had attributed to writer's block. Iris Murdoch died in 1999.Book editor. He met Iris Murdoch while they were students together at Oxford, and they maintained their friendship and correspondence for the rest of Lidderdale's life.
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