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An Undergraduate at Oxford

An Undergraduate at Oxford

20 February 2025

Iris and John were so different yet complementary. He was all sparkle, lightness and conviviality; she had a stillness and austere seriousness at her centre. Almost like a Cavalier versus a Puritan, the sun versus the moon.

Welcome to the Iris Murdoch Society Website. The society exists to champion the work, and celebrate the life, of the novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch: one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Twentieth Century.

Murdoch's work spans fiction (26 novels), philosophy, plays, poetry and thousands of letters. All of her work is still in print, and you can find recent books about her life and work in our online shop.

The Society is for all readers and enthusiasts with hundreds of members from accross the world. We organise regular events in the UK, and promote events worldwide. We organise a bienniel international conference alongside a bienniel Summer School.

Become a member

Join the Iris Murdoch Society to:

  • Receive the Iris Murdoch Review on publication
  • Keep up to date with scholarship, new publications, symposia and other information
  • Be entitled to reduced rates for the biennial Iris Murdoch Conferences at Chichester University

Events

Blog

An Undergraduate at Oxford

An Undergraduate at Oxford

20 February 2025

Iris and John were so different yet complementary. He was all sparkle, lightness and conviviality; she had a stillness and austere seriousness at her centre. Almost like a Cavalier versus a Puritan, the sun versus the moon.

Emma Stone Remembers a Visit from Iris and John

Emma Stone Remembers a Visit from Iris and John

11 February 2025

Today Iris, John and my parents drove to Portland Bill for a picnic. John and Mamma looking fantastic in the Moke* and the rest of us in the 1100 MG which we’ve had for a year now. We stopped at Wadden a most beautiful Georgian house which they admired tremendously.

BSH Fund Fellow 2025

BSH Fund Fellow 2025

27 November 2024

I am honored to have been awarded the Barbara Stevens Heusel Research Fund for Early-Career Scholars. With this grant, I’ll not only be able to present my work at various universities in the United Kingdom, such as Chichester and Oxford, but will also be able to visit the Murdoch archives at Kingston University. At the archives, I’m hoping to look closely at discussions of imagination and fantasy in Murdoch’s Gifford Lectures, which serve as the basis for Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals.

The Iris Murdoch Review

  • Iris Murdoch Review 15, 2024 £10.00
  • Iris Murdoch Review 14, 2023 £10.00
  • Iris Murdoch Review 13, 2022 £10.00
  • Iris Murdoch Review 12, 2021 £10.00