Peter J. Conradi (born 8 May 1945) is a British author and academic, best known for his studies of writer and philosopher,

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

, who was a close friend. He is a Professor Emeritus of English at the

University of Kingston Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

and has been visiting fellow at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, and research fellow at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Education

Conradi was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire ...

, before going on to study English literature at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(BA, 1967), the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

(MA, 1969) and

(PhD, 1983).

Career

Conradi has taught at South Bank Polytechnic,

University of Colorado, Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

(Exchange Professor),

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

and the

Jagiellonian University, Krakow The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

, Poland (British Council Professor). In 1997 Conradi left Kingston University, where he is now

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

, to write freelance; and in 2010 was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

. Conradi has written a number of books, including studies of

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. After leaving Oxford Uni ...

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

and

Angus Wilson Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson (11 August 191331 May 1991) was an English novelist and short story writer. He was one of England's first openly gay authors. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for '' The Middle Age of Mrs ...

, but he is best known for his work on the life and work of

. His authorised biography of Murdoch was widely chosen as a book of the year on its publication in 2001.

Personal life

Conradi lives in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

with his civil partner Jim O’Neill. He is a practising

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. He is a trustee of the Bleddfa Centre for the Creative Spirit and has been co-editor (2007–2018) of the ''Transactions'' of the Radnorshire Society.

Writings

*''

'' (1982) () *''Iris Murdoch. The Saint and the Artist'' (1986, 3rd edition 2001) () *''

'' (1987) () *''

'' (1997)

Isobel Armstrong Isobel Armstrong, (born 1937) is a British academic. She is professor emerita of English at Birkbeck, University of London and a senior research fellow of the Institute of English Studies at the University of London. She is a fellow of the Bri ...

and Bryan Loughrey (editors) () *''Cold War, Common Pursuit: British Council Lecturers in Poland 1938-98'' (1999) with Stoddard Martin (editor) *''Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature by Iris Murdoch'' (1999) (editor) *''Iris Murdoch: A Life'' (2001) and later revisions () *''Going Buddhist: Panic and Emptiness, the Buddha and Me'' (2005) () *''At the Bright Hem of God'' (2009) () *''Iris Murdoch: A writer at war : letters & diaries, 1939-45'' (editor) (2010) () *''A Very English Hero: The Making of

Frank Thompson Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the United Sta ...

'' (2012) () A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs

External links

Peter J. Conradi's official website

References

1945 births Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of University College London Academics of Kingston University English biographers English male journalists English non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English male non-fiction writers English Buddhists People educated at Oundle School Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford British male biographers {{UK-writer-stub