Letters from Iris Murdoch to Stephen Gardiner
TitleLetters from Iris Murdoch to Stephen Gardiner
ReferenceKUAS130
Date
c. 1973- c. 1990
Creator Iris Murdoch, 1919-1999, author
Production date 1973-01-01 - 1990-12-31
Scope and ContentLetters from Iris Murdoch to her friend, architect Stephen Gardiner dated c. 1973- c. 1990.
Stephen Gardiner graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1948 and founded his own practice in 1957. Gardiner’s work included Sir John Baring’s house at Stratton Park in Hampshire as well as several school buildings in and around London. In 1970 he became business partners with architect Joan Scotson, whom he married in 1979. Gardiner wrote for prominent publications including the London Magazine and RIBA Journal and was architectural correspondent for The Guardian from 1970-2003. Gardiner also taught architecture at a number of institutions including the Oxford School of Architecture and University of Westminster. In 2002 Gardiner was awarded an OBE for services to community architecture. He died in 2007.
Stephen Gardiner graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1948 and founded his own practice in 1957. Gardiner’s work included Sir John Baring’s house at Stratton Park in Hampshire as well as several school buildings in and around London. In 1970 he became business partners with architect Joan Scotson, whom he married in 1979. Gardiner wrote for prominent publications including the London Magazine and RIBA Journal and was architectural correspondent for The Guardian from 1970-2003. Gardiner also taught architecture at a number of institutions including the Oxford School of Architecture and University of Westminster. In 2002 Gardiner was awarded an OBE for services to community architecture. He died in 2007.
Extent2 files
Archival historypresented by Joan Scotson
Persons keyword Iris Murdoch, 1919-1999, author, Stephen Gardiner, 1924-2007, architect
SubjectCorrespondence, Architecture, Art
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.
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