Iris Murdoch

Great British writer, born in Dublin.

Murdoch’s first novel, Under The Net, came out in 1954 but it was The Bell (1958) that made her famous. She went on to write 26 novels over the space of 40 years, and perhaps the greatest of these was The Sea, The Sea (1978), which won her the Booker Prize.

Murdoch began to show the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease in the mid-1990’s and she was cared for her in her declining years by her husband, John Bayley, whom she had married in 1956.

Bayley wrote a loving but unsentimental memoir of his wife, Elegy for Iris, in 1999. This was made into a hugely successful film, Iris, in 2001 with Judi Dench playing the part of the older Iris Murdoch (and Kate Winslet the younger). Jim Broadbent played John Bayley.

Murdoch’s benevolent personality remained with her. Bayley touchingly describes his wife at the end as “a very nice 3-year old”.

This is a very fine softcover First Edition copy of her 1990 book, Something Special: Four Poems and a Story (Eurographica, Helsinki), nicely signed  ("Iris Murdoch, 30 September 1990") in blue fountain pen ink to the main title page. This book was produced as a limited and numbered edition of 350, and is copy number 213. In excellent condition.