Irish writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch was BOTD in 1919. Born in Dublin, she was raised in London, studying Classics, history and philosophy at Oxford University. During World War Two, she worked briefly for the British Treasury, before undertaking refugee aid work for the United Nations. As a former member of the Communist Party, she was refused entry to study in the United States, and returned to Oxford where she taught philosophy for 20 years. Her debut novel, Under the Net, published in 1954, was an instant success, leading to a distinguished writing career. She is best known for her novel The Sea, The Sea, which won the 1978 Booker Prize. She also published a number of philosophical texts, including The Sovereignty of Good, discussing the nature of good and evil and expanding on French philosopher Simone Weil’s concept of “attention”. In 1956, she married the writer and academic John Bayley. They had a loving though mostly sexless marriage for 43 years, allowing Murdoch to pursue affairs with men and women, including her long-term friend Brigid Brophy. Murdoch died in 1999, aged 79, after suffering for many years from Alzheimer’s disease. Bayley’s 1998 memoir Elegy for Iris, an intimate portrait of their marriage, drew criticism for its graphic and unflattering portrait of Murdoch’s illness. The book was successfully adapted into the 2002 film Iris, starring Kate Winslet and Judi Dench as Murdoch.