Conradi, Peter J. 1945- (Peter John Conradi)

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Conradi, Peter J. 1945- (Peter John Conradi)

PERSONAL:

Born May 8, 1945, in London, England; son of Gordon Henry and Dulcie Conradi. Education: University of East Anglia, B.A. (with first class honors), 1967; University of Sussex, M.A., 1969; University of London, Ph.D., 1983. Religion: Buddhist.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—William Hamilton, A.M. Heath & Co., 79 St. Martins Lane, London WC2N 4AA, England.

CAREER:

Writer and educator. Kingston Polytechnic, Kingston on Thames, England, reader in English, 1981—. University of Colorado, Boulder, visiting professor of English, 1978-80; University of East Anglia, visiting lecturer, 1981; Jagielloian University, Krakow, Poland, British Council professor in English, 1990—; Magdalen College, Oxford, visiting fellow, 1999. Kingston University, professor emeritus, 1997. University College, London, honorary research fellow, 1998—.

WRITINGS:

John Fowles, Methuen (New York, NY), 1982, revised edition, 1983.

Iris Murdoch: The Saint and the Artist, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1986, published as The Saint and the Artist: A Study of the Fiction of Iris Murdoch, HarperCollins (London, England), 2001.

Dostoevsky, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Angus Wilson, Northcote House (Tavistock, England), 1997.

(Editor) Existentialists & Mystics, Chatto & Windus (London, England), 1997.

(Editor, with Stoddard Martin) Cold War, Common Pursuit, Starhaven (La Jolla, CA), 1999.

Iris Murdoch: A Life, Norton (New York, NY), 2001.

Going Buddhist: Panic and Emptiness, the Buddha and Me (memoir), Short (London, England), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Peter J. Conradi told CA: "I consider Iris Murdoch to be a superlative writer. My book on her is very much a labor of love."

In fact, Conradi's interest in Murdoch led him to write not only a book about Murdoch's work, which is titled, Iris Murdoch: The Saint and the Artist, but also a subsequent biography titled Iris Murdoch: A Life. In the biography, Conradi writes of Murdoch's happy childhood and her time at Oxford, where she joined the Communist Party for a short time. The author also delves into Murdoch's sexual escapades while attending Oxford and her decision to dedicate her life to teaching philosophy and writing novels. The author recounts Murdoch's early loves and losses and follows Murdoch's life as a novelist, writing about many of her novels in detail. The book also includes excerpts from many of Murdoch's previously unpublished journals and letters.

In a review of the biography in World Literature Today, Richard Henry noted that the author "achieves precisely what he set out to do: to provide a first foray into the intellectual life of Iris Murdoch." Betty Thompson, writing in the Christian Century, commented: "Despite Conradi's often declared love and admiration for his subject, he writes candidly of Murdoch's human weaknesses and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of her artistic failings." Harper's Magazine contributor Jay Parini wrote: "Conradi certainly provides the fullest account of Murdoch's background ever undertaken."

Conradi is also the author of Going Buddhist: Panic and Emptiness, the Buddha and Me, in which the author explores his experience practicing Tibetan Buddhism. The author writes about many aspects of the faith, including meditating and how Buddhism was introduced to the West. He also describes legendary Buddhist teachers and includes his written correspondence and conversations with Iris Murdoch, who was what she called a "Christian-Buddhist." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted: "Conradi provides a substantial, provocative primer that will appeal to the novice and accomplished practitioner alike." Graham Christian, writing in the Library Journal, referred to the memoir as "a fluent, engaging, highly personal account."