UI Collection Guides -Iris Murdoch Papers, 1960-2000

Collection Overview
Biographical Note
Content Description
Administrative Information
Detailed Description of the Collection

MANUSCRIPTS
THE GIFFORD LECTURES
CORRESPONDENCE
MISCELLANEOUS
FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITIONS OF MURDOCH'S WORKS

Subjects

Guide to the Iris Murdoch Papers

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Collection Overview

Date Span:	1960-2000
Creator:	Murdoch, Iris (1919-1999)
Extent:	26.00 linear feet.
Collection Number:	MSC0212
Repository:	University of Iowa Special Collections
Summary:	British writer and philosopher. Manuscripts for most of her novels, plays, and poetry, primarily handwritten drafts in notebooks.

Access: This collection is open for research.

Use: Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Acquisition: The University of Iowa Libraries has been purchasing Dame Murdoch's manuscripts since the nineteen-sixties.

Preferred Citation: Iris Murdoch Papers, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa.

Repository:	University of Iowa Special Collections
Address:	Special Collections Department University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5921
Curator:	Greg Prickman
Email:	lib-spec@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc

Iris Murdoch, novelist and philosopher, was born in Dublin on July 15, 1919, and was educated at Oxford University and later at Cambridge. In 1948 she became a Fellow of St. Anne's College, Oxford. Her first novel, Under the Net, was published in 1954. This book was followed by many others and Murdoch won most of the major literary awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, the Whitbread Prize, and the Booker Prize. She also wrote plays, poetry, and philosophical works. In 1956 she married John Bayley, an Oxford don and literary critic. She was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1987. She died February 8, 1999, in Oxford.

Since the 1960s the University of Iowa has been collecting her books and manuscripts. The papers of Iris Murdoch consist of twenty six linear feet of her literary manuscripts, which are arranged alphabetically by book title. The manuscripts include mostly handwritten drafts of her novels (usually in notebooks), along with some typescripts, galley proofs, working notes and correspondence. Some of the books included are: An Accidental Man, The Bell, The Nice and the Good, The Sea, the Sea, and A Word Child. There is also correspondence between Iris Murdoch and John Fletcher.

The Center for Iris Murdoch Studies at Kingston University

Browse by Series:
Series 1: MANUSCRIPTS
Series 2: THE GIFFORD LECTURES
Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE
Series 4: MISCELLANEOUS
Series 5: FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITIONS OF MURDOCH'S WORKS

Series 1: MANUSCRIPTS
Sub-Series: An Accidental Man
Box 1:
Holograph notebook, nos. 1-14 - 1970
Later holograph draft pp. 1-150
Box 2:
Later holograph draft pp. 151-734
Sub-Series: "Art should make us happy…"
Box 2:
One sheet document
Sub-Series: The Bell
Box 2:
Holograph notebook, nos. 1-7 - 1957
Box 3:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 8-11
Later holograph draft (4 folders)
Sub-Series: The Black Prince
Box 3:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-2
Box 4:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 3-14
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150 - 1971
Box 5:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-716
Reader's report by Marshall Best and a second copy with Murdoch's comments. - 1972
Sub-Series: The Book and the Brotherhood
Box 6:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-8 - 1985
Box 7:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 9-15 - 1985-1986
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150 - 1986
Box 8:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-752
Sub-Series: Bruno's Dream
Box 8:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-4 - 1967
Box 9:
Holograph notebooks, nos 5-8 - 1967
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-436
Sub-Series: The Darkness of Practical Reason
Box 9:
Handwritten manuscript, or possible review for The Darkness of Practical Reason
Sub-Series: A Fairly Honourable Defeat
Box 9:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-3 - 1968
Box 10:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 4-11 - 1968
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-450 - 1968
Box 11:
Later holograph draft, pp. 451-600
Marked typescript
Gallery proofs
Box 12:
Gallery proofs
Sub-Series: A Flight from the Enchanter
Box 12:
Holograph hotebooks, nos. 1-6
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150
Box 13:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-507
Sub-Series: Freedom of the Individual
Box 13:
Holograph draft of a book review
Sub-Series: The Good Apprentice
Box 13:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-5 - 1983
Box 14:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 6-12
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-185
Box 15:
Later holograph draft, pp. 186-986
Sub-Series: Henry and Cato
Box 15:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-3 - 1974
Box 16:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 4-12 - 1974
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150 - 1975
Box 17:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-703
Sub-Series: A House of Theory: A Study in Moral Energy
Box 17:
Essay
Sub-Series: The Idea of Perfection
Box 17:
Holograph drafts of the article
Sub-Series: The Italian Girl, a novel
Box 17:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-5 - 1963
Box 18:
Later holograph draft - 1963
Sub-Series: The Italian Girl, a play
Box 18:
Holograph notebooks, three drafts - 1964
Playbill Programme from Wyndam's Theatre, February 1, 1968
Sub-Series: A Lovely Woman is a Work of Nature
Box 18:
Handwritten notes
Sub-Series: Ludvig…
Box 18:
Murdoch's draft of a blurb for a novel
Sub-Series: The Magic Brothel
Box 18:
Typed draft
Sub-Series: Morality and the Bomb
Box 18:
From Women Ask Why: An Intelligent Woman's Guide to Nuclear Disarmament, London: The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 1962?
Sub-Series: The Nice and the Good
Box 18:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-6 - 1966
Box 19:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 7-11
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-559
Sub-Series: A Note on the Novel in the New Utilitarian Age: Existentialists and Mystics
Box 20:
Holograph drafts of an essay
Sub-Series:
Box 20:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-9 - 1978
Box 21:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 10-14 - 1978
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-300
Box 22:
Later holograph draft, pp. 301-978
Sub-Series: On 'God' and 'Good'
Box 22:
Typed draft for the Study Group on Foundations of Cultural Unity - 1966
Sub-Series: The Philosopher's Pupil
Box 22:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-3 - 1980
Box 23:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 4-10 - 1980-1981
Box 24:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 11-16 - 1981
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-300 - 1981
Box 25:
Later holograph draft, pp. 301-1083 - 1981
Sub-Series: Miscellaneous poetry
Box 25:
Poems published in the Boston University Journal - 1975
Sub-Series: The Red and the Green
Box 25:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-2 - 1964
Box 26:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 3-7 - 1964
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-485 - 1964
Sub-Series: Reynolds Stone Memorial Service Eulogy
Box 27:
Typed eulogy from St. James, Picadilly (n.d.)
Sub-Series: The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
Box 27:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-13 - 1972
Editor's comments (Marshall Best) on Murdoch's blurb
Box 28:
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-628 - 1972
Sub-Series: Salvation of Words
Box 28:
Typescript of a speech - 1972
Sub-Series: The Sandcastle
Box 28:
Holograph notebook, nos. 1-6 - 1955
Box 29:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 7-8
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-495
Sub-Series: Sartre: Romantic Rationalist
Box 29:
Holograph draft
Sub-Series: The Sea, the Sea
Box 29:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-4 (Together with a xerox copy of notebook no. 1)
Box 30:
Holograph notebook, nos. 5-14 - 1976
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-42 - 1976
Box 31:
Later holograph draft, pp. 143-947
Discarded holograph pages
Sub-Series: The Servants and the Snow
Box 31:
Holograph notebooks (Draft one of the play) - 1969
Box 32:
Holograph notebooks (Draft two of the play) - 1969
Later holograph draft of the play - 1969
Sub-Series: A Severed Head
Box 32:
Working notes - 1960
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-6 - 1960
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150 - 1960
Box 33:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-308 - 1960
The Manuscript of Iris Murdoch's *A Severed Head* by Frank Baldanza
From the Journal of Modern Literature, pp. 75-90. Offprint
Sub-Series: Something Special
Box 33:
Holograph draft
Sub-Series: The Three Arrows
Box 33:
Holograph draft of the play
Sub-Series: The Time of Angels
Box 33:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-9 - 1965
Box 34:
Later holograph draft, 1-386 - 1965
Sub-Series: Under the Net
Original finding aid unclear, draft two may be missing, or named incorrectly and is in fact in the box under a different name.
Box 34:
Holograph notebook
Draft one, nos. 1-7 (Incomplete) - 1952
Box 35:
Holograph notebooks, draft two nos.1-7
Possibly missing as of 1/28/2014
Sub-Series: The Unicorn
Box 35:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-9 - 1961
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-402 - 1961
Sub-Series: An Unofficial Rose
Box 36:
Working notes - 1960
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-9 - 1960
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-150 - 1961
Box 37:
Later holograph draft, pp. 151-449
Miscellaneous pages of revision
Sub-Series: The Voice of Philosophy in the World of Today
Box 37:
Holograph draft of an essay
Sub-Series: A World Child
Box 38:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-12 - 1973
Box 39:
Holograph notebooks, no. 13
Later holograph draft, pp. 1-727
Miscellaneous pages of revision
Editor's summary with a description of the book, jacket suggestions and an excerpt from John Updike's review - 1975
Sub-Series: The Green Knight
Box 39:
Holograph notebooks, no. 1 - 1989
Box 40:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 2-9 - 1989-1990
Box 41:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 10-11 - 1990
Second holograph draft, pp. 1-698
Box 42:
Second holograph draft, photocopy with corrections and revisions, pp. 1-698
Sub-Series: Jackson's Dilemma
Box 42:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-2 - 1993
Box 43:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 3, 5-10
Notebook no. 4 is missing
Second holograph draft with corrections and revisions, pp. 1-168
Box 44:
Second holograph draft with corrections and revisions, pp. 169-389
Holograph notes about "Sequence"
Sub-Series: The Message to the Planet [Original Title: The Language of the Planet]
Box 44:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 1-6 - 1987
Box 45:
Holograph notebooks, nos. 7-15 - 1987
Box 46:
Second holograph draft with corrections and revisions, pp. 1-778

Series 2: THE GIFFORD LECTURES
Box 1:
Holograph notes
Holograph notes and precis from a close reading of Heidegger's Introduction to Metaphysics
Gifford Lecture I, holograph draft with corrections and revisions, pp. 1-883
Gifford Lecture II, holograph draft with corrections and revisions, pp. 1-680
Box 2:
Incomplete holograph drafts with corrections and revisions, pp. 879-1060
Miscellaneous pages of holograph draft with corrections and revisions
"Heidegger" holograph draft with corrections and revisions
"Plato" holograph draft with corrections and revisions
How to Prove the Existence of God, "Groningen" text with corrected carbon typescript with holograph title-page and notes
A version of this text is found in the Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals
How to Prove the Existence of God, "The Ontological Proof" corrected carbon tyescript
How to Prove the Existence of God, "Structuralism" carbon typscript
Two copies
How to Prove the Existence of God, Carbon typescripts with holograph corrections and revisions
Five drafts, some incomplete

Series 3: CORRESPONDENCE
Box 1:
To Miss Batchelor in with Steeple Ashton thanks her for, and commenting on, her article in Books at Iowa, on a novel of Murdoch's, Under the Net - 1968
Photocopy
To Enid Bagnold. Oxford. [n.y.]
Three letters and a postcard
To Baker. Oxford. Murdoch regrets that she lost the photostat; agreeing to let him publish one of her stories; postscript asking that he postpone publishing her work (April 7, n.y.)
To [David] Beams, thanking Mr. Beams for his letter concerning Bruno's Dream - 1969?
To [David] Beams. Oxford. Thanking Mr. Beams for his letters; mentioning Simone Weil, Leslie Stephens, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen. September 17 and October - 1969?
To [David] Beams. Steeple Aston, Oxford. Seven letters
Thanking him for the letters. February 21 - 1969
Concerning whether or not T.S. Eliot knows of her work. June 25 - 1972
Thanking him for sending a journal; inquiring as to his teaching post and work. July 29 - 1973
Discussing oriental philosophy and influences with regard to Bruno's Dream. April 4, [n.d]
Photocopy
Congratulating him on the completion of his thesis; hoping that he will find a publisher. June 2, [n.d]
Photocopy
Thanking him for his letter; disagreeing with some of his comments about her writing. [n.d]
Thanking him for sending his article about Muhammad Ali. [n.d]
Photocopy, contains an incomplete copy of the article
Correspondence. Primarily correspondence between Murdoch and her American editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best, regarding her publications
Twenty items
To [Ronald Duncan]. Steeple Aston, Oxford [.n.d.] Apologizing for not being able to contribute to his book
To Mr. Findletter. Steeple Aston, Oxford. June 5. [n.y.] Regretting that she is unable to write anything for him
Correspondence between Murdoch and John Fletcher - 1977-1994
Includes undated material
To Michael Goldman. Concerning the meaning of her book, The Unicorn. May 23 - 1967
Contains a carbon copy of a handwritten letter from Goldman
Answers to questions by Ronald Hayman
To Miss Kenny. Oxford. Giving permission to publish the Reynolds Stone eulogy address given by Murdoch. August 12, [n.y.]
To Margaret. Oxford. Three Letters
Accepting her invitation to speak. February 26, [n.y.]
Arranging a time for her to talk. April 25, [n.y.]
Confirming the lecture arrangements. September 19, [n.y.]
To Ann Marreco
Paris. Thanking her for sending Boat Boy. [n.d.]
Aurangabad. Thanking her for the letter [n.d.]
Cambridge. Regretting having missed her; mentioning that she gave Wignall's address to a student [n.d.]
Harcourt Terrace S.W. London. Inviting her for drinks [n.d.]
London. Thanking her for the letter; inviting her for drinks celebrating the Labor victory [n.d.]
No location. Wishing her step-daughter a speedy recovery; hoping to meet after Christmas [n.d.]
Steeple Aston. Hoping her mother and Sarah are better; expressing interest in her novel [n.d.]
Steeple Aston. Thanking her for the letter; urging her to send her typescript to Viking [n.d.]
Steeple Aston. Accepting a dinner invitation [n.d.]
No location. Concerning their recent meeting; enclosing a belated birthday gift [n.d.]
Steeple Aston. Discussing dishwashers; appreciating her re-reading of Under the Net [n.d.]
Oxford. Discussing how much she enjoyed Boat Boy and the characterizations. January 5, [n.y.]
Steeple Aston. Regarding the leasing of the London flat. April 25 [n.y.]
Steeple Aston. Thanking her for the wonderful weekend holiday. May 22 [n.y.]
Steeple Aston. Congratulating her on her recent marriage; wishing her success on her novel. October 3 - 1961
Oxford. Thanking her for letting Murdoch read her novel; accepting a dinner invitation - 1961
Steeple Aston. Congratulating her on her novel; discussing the characters at length. May 15 - 1962
Helsinki. Regarding her trip. June 17 - 1963
Stratford, Ontario. Comparing Canada to Ireland. August 8 - 1963
Apologizing for not having written sooner; hoping to visit her in Ireland soon. February 10 - 1961
Oxford. Regretfullly declining an invitation; hoping to make other arrangements. February 19 - 1964
Steeple Aston. Anticipating their visit; discussing the itinerary. April 12 - 1964
Steeple Aston. Concerning Caroline's automobile accident; hoping to meet soon. September 9 - 1965
Oxford. Giving bus directions for Oxford. September 26 - 1964
Steeple Aston. Mentioning a recent trip to the USA and Italy; accepting an invitation. September 16 - 1966
Oxford. Conerning their recent meeting. March 16 - 1972
Steeple Aston. Encouraging her to send The Spanish Princess to Viking for publication. Autumn - 1972
Steeple Aston. Congratulating her on the book. February - 1973
Steeple Aston. Thanking her for the luncheon party; mentioning her new novel. January 6 - 1974
Steeple Aston. Congratulating her on having a publisher; suggesting that she submit some of her earlier novels; discussing her latest work. February 14 - 1974
To Eddie McCrory. Concerning McCrory's poetry; mentioning a foreword she is writing for him
Fourteen items, includes a photograph of Iris Murdoch
To [Jeffrey] Meyers. Steeple Aston, Oxford. Thanking him for his letter and review; mentioning another review; inviting him to write and visit with her when in London
To Andrew Mylett. Steeple Aston, Oxford. Regretting that she is unable to write the Poe review; asking if he needs a good secretary. July 13 - 1970
To Mr. Norbutt. Steeple Aston, Oxford. Discussing the writer's art and what it means; advising young people to study the great books and poetry of the 19th century along with history, foreign languages and mathematics. January 23, [n.y.]
To Charles Osborne. One undated letter inviting him to join them, and another from Steeple Aston, February 16, 1969, suggesting Chatto and Windus for a photograph of her.
Includes a carbon letter from Osborne to Murdoch
To Timothy O'Keefe. Steeple Aston, Oxford. Concerning her reticence to write on any more political matters at the moment. September 28, [n.y.]
To Frank Paluka. Regarding the disposition of her manuscripts
Twenty-four items
To Derek Stanford. Oxford. Thanking him for his letter and review praising Bruno's Dream. February 16, [n.y.]
To Mladen Turcinovic. Two postcards thanking him for letters; one letter in which Murdoch states that she will try to have her publisher find out of print copies for Turcinovic. - 1986
Three items
To Mr. Wall. Oxford. One letter from June 29 [n.y.] thanking him for a copy of XX Century, regretting that she will be unable to contribute to his women's number and another letter from August 22 [n.y.] declining an invitation to attend a conference in Rome

Series 4: MISCELLANEOUS
Box 1:
Huesal, Barbara Stevens. Patterned Aimlessness: Iris Murdoch's Novels of the 1970s and 1980s. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press
Book jacket and press materials
Articles about Iris Murdoch - 1959-2004
Articles concerning Iris Murdoch's diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease - 1997-1999
Obituaries and eulogies - 1999
Reviews of books about Iris Murdoch - 1998-2003
Reviews of books authored by Iris Murdoch - 1962-1991
Postcard of Tom Phillips portrait of Dame Iris Murdoch - 1984-1986
Miscellaneous

Series 5: FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITIONS OF MURDOCH'S WORKS
Box 1:
The Book and the Brotherhood - 1990
French edition, Gallimard paperback

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Topics:
English fiction
English literature
Women authors
Women authors, English

Genre/Form of Materials:
Drafts (Documents)

Browse:
English & American Literature
English & American Literature
Writers Archive at Iowa
Novelists, Story Writers, & Poets