Tales from the Cloister: Godden, Murdoch and Spark
The retreat from the secular world to a religious order was certainly not unusual prior to the Second World War, particularly for artists, but for these three novelists the impact that Stanbrook in particular had on both their writing and personal lives, however fleeting that initial visit, was decisive. All three, in their different ways, experienced a connection with the transcendent that would remain with them, and which became important to the development of their later work.
Tales from the Cloister: Godden, Murdoch and Spark
The retreat from the secular world to a religious order was certainly not unusual prior to the Second World War, particularly for artists, but for these three novelists the impact that Stanbrook in particular had on both their writing and personal lives, however fleeting that initial visit, was decisive. All three, in their different ways, experienced a connection with the transcendent that would remain with them, and which became important to the development of their later work.
Influences and Inspirations: Iris Murdoch, Janet Frame and Susan Howatch
To the long list of writers known to be influenced by Murdoch, I want to add the names of Janet Frame and Susan Howatch. Janet Frame (1924– 2004) is a great writer from Dunedin, New Zealand; Susan Howatch (1940) is a famous British bestselling author.
Out of the Attic
As someone who lives for both poetry and Iris Murdoch (her own canon and the wonderful world of scholarship that surrounds her), Poems from an Attic, is the best fiftieth birthday present I could wish for. I’ve interrupted my project of reading fifty books published in 1975 (my own vintage) to splash around in the joy of this lyrical cornucopia.
