Order of Book Series
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Iris Murdoch Books in Order

43 books are credited to Iris Murdoch, published between 1953 and 2025; 3 of them appeared after Iris Murdoch's death in 1999. The first book is Sartre: Romantic Rationalist (1953) and the newest is Poems from an Attic: Selected Poems, 1936-95 (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
43
Published
1953–2025
Pages on record
11,834 in 37 of 43 books
Reading time
197–296 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 11,834 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 37 of 43 titles with a page count on record.

See all 43 books in order Printable Iris Murdoch checklist

Philosophy and fiction sit side by side in Iris Murdoch's catalogue of 43 titles. The run opens with Sartre: Romantic Rationalist (1953), a study rather than a novel, and Under the Net follows. Good and evil, morality and the unconscious recur across the novels. Murdoch lived from 1919 to 1999, and collections such as Poems from an Attic continue to appear.

How many Iris Murdoch books are there?

Iris Murdoch has 43 books, released between 1953 and 2025. 3 of them were published after Iris Murdoch's death in 1999.

Iris Murdoch Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 43 Iris Murdoch books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Sartre: Romantic Rationalist by Iris Murdoch (1953)
  2. Cover of The Flight from the Enchanter by Iris Murdoch (1956)
  3. Cover of Something Special by Iris Murdoch (1957)
  4. Cover of The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch (1957)
  5. Cover of The Bell by Iris Murdoch (1958)
  6. Cover of Cloches by Iris Murdoch (1958)
  7. Cover of A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch (1961)
  8. Cover of An Unofficial Rose by Iris Murdoch (1962)
  9. Cover of The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch (1963)
  10. Cover of The Italian Girl by Iris Murdoch (1964)
  11. Cover of The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch (1965)
  12. Cover of The Time of the Angels by Iris Murdoch (1966)
  13. Cover of The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch (1968)
  14. Cover of Bruno's Dream by Iris Murdoch (1969)
  15. Cover of The Sovereignty of Good by Iris Murdoch (1970)
  16. Cover of A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch (1970)
  17. Cover of An Accidental Man by Iris Murdoch (1971)
  18. Cover of The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch (1973)
  19. Cover of The Three Arrows and the Servants and the Snow by Iris Murdoch (1974)
  20. Cover of The Sacred and Profane Love Machine by Iris Murdoch (1974)
  21. Cover of A Word Child by Iris Murdoch (1975)
  22. Cover of The Fire and the Sun by Iris Murdoch (1976)
  23. Cover of Henry and Cato by Iris Murdoch (1976)
  24. Cover of A Year of Birds by Iris Murdoch (1978)
  1. 1
    Sartre: Romantic Rationalist1953 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1953160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Under the Net1954 · 252 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1954252
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Flight from the Enchanter1956 · 301 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1956301
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Something Special1957 · 55 pages · confirmed 1/4
    195755
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Sandcastle1957 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1957320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Bell1958 · 296 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1958296
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Cloches1958 · 404 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1958404
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    A Severed Head1961 · confirmed 1/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    An Unofficial Rose1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Unicorn1963 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1963272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Italian Girl1964 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1964208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Red and the Green1965 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1965288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Time of the Angels1966 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1966240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Nice and the Good1968 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1968368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Bruno's Dream1969 · 320 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1969320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Sovereignty of Good1970 · 105 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970105
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    A Fairly Honourable Defeat1970 · 412 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1970412
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    An Accidental Man1971 · 447 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1971447
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Three Arrows1973 · 221 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973221
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Black Prince1973 · confirmed 1/4
    1973–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Three Arrows and the Servants and the Snow1974 · 221 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974221
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Sacred and Profane Love Machine1974 · confirmed 1/4
    1974–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    A Word Child1975 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Fire and the Sun1976 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197696
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Henry and Cato1976 · 399 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976399
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    A Year of Birds1978 · 30 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197830
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    The Sea, The Sea1978 · 495 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978495
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Nuns and Soldiers1980 · 492 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980492
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Philosopher's Pupil1983 · 560 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1983560
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Good Apprentice1985 · 528 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985528
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Iris Murdoch books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Standalone books

43 books

43 Iris Murdoch titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Iris Murdoch books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 43 Iris Murdoch books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Iris Murdoch

Start with Sartre: Romantic Rationalist (1953), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Iris Murdoch book?

Poems from an Attic: Selected Poems, 1936-95 (2025) is the newest Iris Murdoch book released so far.

Is there a new Iris Murdoch book coming?

No next Iris Murdoch book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Iris Murdoch has won

Wikidata records 2 awards and 5 nominations for Iris Murdoch. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Iris Murdoch at a glance

Died
Iris Murdoch died in 1999, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Iris Murdoch are still being published after Iris Murdoch's death in 1999; the newest appeared in 2025.
Release pace
Iris Murdoch books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
11,834 pages across the 37 of 43 books with a recorded length, a median of 301 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Iris Murdoch books, 12 of 43, were published in the 1970s.

What the Iris Murdoch books are about

40 of the 43 Iris Murdoch books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fiction in english is tagged on 10 of 40. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.