Russell Kane to Champion Iris Murdoch on BBC Radio 4’s Great Lives

Russell Kane is set to champion the life and work of acclaimed novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch in the latest episode of BBC Radio 4’s Great Lives.

Russell is the nominator for the programme, which explores why Murdoch remains such an important and influential figure in British literature and philosophy.

Born in Ireland in 1919 and raised in London, Murdoch was educated in Bristol and Oxford before going on to become one of the most celebrated writers of her generation. She published numerous novels alongside her philosophical work and won the Booker Prize in 1978 for The Sea, The Sea.

The programme will hear from two people with particular insight into Murdoch’s life and legacy: her friend and biographer Peter Conradi, and Miles Leeson, Director of the Iris Murdoch Research Centre in Chichester.

Together with Russell, they discuss what made Murdoch such a compelling writer and thinker, and why her work continues to resonate.

Great Lives is presented by Matthew Parris and produced by Miles Warde.

The Iris Murdoch episode forms part of the final series of Great Lives, with other guests including Ruby Tandoh discussing children’s author Brian Jacques, Pauline Black of The Selecter on Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, and Mel Giedroyc on her ancestor, Russia’s first female military surgeon Princess Vera Gedroits.

Russell Kane’s Great Lives episode on Iris Murdoch airs on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 7th September at 3:00 pm, and will be available to listen to afterwards on BBC Sounds.