Iris Murdoch was one of the "most productive and influential British novelists of her generation," writes Richard Todd in his book Iris Murdoch, and a "powerfully intellectual and original theorist of fiction." In other words, she could write a good story and also thoroughly understood the underlying concepts of her craft.

Although Murdoch was born July 15, 1919, in Dublin, Ireland, to a family with a long history of Irish descent, she grew up in London and only returned to her homeland for holidays in her childhood. Her binational identity not only affected her personality it was also often reflected in her novels, which are known for their strong sense of place.

Murdoch was an only child. She has referred to her relationship with her parents and her memories of her youth as being very happy. Her father, Wills John Hughes, was a civil servant who was a...