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.

Overview of My Work – Zhiqi Wang

13 January 2026

I am honoured to have been awarded the Barbara Stevens Heusel Research Fund for Early-Career Scholars. I am currently a PhD candidate in the School of Literature at Zhejiang University, China. My doctoral dissertation is titled ‘Reconstructing Subjectivity: A Dialogue between the Ethical and Aesthetic Thought of Iris Murdoch and Wang Yangming’.

Re-Reading Iris Murdoch’ s Early Fiction

17 November 2025

The quest of Iris Murdoch to perceive some rays of light piercing through the mist of human confusion and folly will go on for 21 more novels. I’m looking forward to continue my exploration.

Iris Murdoch and Brussels

11 November 2025

Iris Murdoch’s love of Europe began in Belgium in that short but powerfully influential sojourn in the city of Magritte and Hergé, in which, by serendipitous happenstance, she was living when Sartre visited and lectured.