Iris Murdoch, novelist and philosopher, was born on 15 July 1919 in Dublin. and brought up in London. Murdoch attended Badminton College and Somerville College. After four years at the Treasury she taught philosophy at St Annes from 1948 until 1963, when she retired to devote her time to writing. She played a major role in English life and letters for nearly half a century. Her philosophy includes a study of Sartre, The Sovereignty of Good and Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals . Among her 26 published novels, Under the Net , The Bell , A Severed Head , The Black Prince , and the Booker-prize winning The Sea The Sea (1978). She died from Alzheimer’s disease on 8 February 1999.