Description

The authorised biography of Shirley Hazzard, one of the greatest writers in the English language, author of The Transit of Venus and winner of the National Book Award

‘Lambent, discerning, deeply intelligent and empathetic’ Lucy Scholes, Financial Times
‘Impeccably researched and deeply incisive’ Lily King, New York Times
‘A refined, deeply insightful perspective’ Chloe Schama, Vogue
‘Absorbing, well-crafted… scrupulously researched’ Kirkus

Born and raised in Sydney Australia, Hazzard lived around the world: in Hong Kong; Wellington, New Zealand; New York; Naples and Capri and her writing — cosmopolitan, richly intelligent, beautiful, questing — reflects her life. Her body of work is small but the acclaim it attracts is immeasurable, from among others, Michael Cunningham, Zoe Heller, Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, Lauren Goff, Hermione Lee, Joan Didion, Richard Ford, Colm Toibin.

At sixteen, she was living in Hong Kong with her family and working for the British Combined Services. She later worked, another desk job, for the United Nations in New York and, briefly, in Naples. Italy — Capri and Naples — claimed her heart and after she was married — she was introduced to the biographer, Francis Steegmuller by Muriel Spark — they divided their time between Italy and America.

Drawing on diaries, letters, interviews alongside a close reading of Hazzard’s fiction — Brigitta Olubas, herself Australian — tells the story of a girl from the suburbs ‘with a head full of poetry’ who fell early under the spell of words and sought out first books and then people who loved books as her companions. In the process she transformed and indeed created her life. She became a woman of the world who felt injustice keenly, a deep and original thinker, who wrote some of the most beautiful fiction about love and longing, always with an eye to the ways we reveal ourselves to another.

This, the definitive biography uncovers the truths and myths and about Shirley Hazzard’s life and work, which come together at the point, as Brigitta Olubas observes: ‘where the writer lives’.

Publisher Review

An illuminating portrait... In this scrupulously researched biography, Olubas... charts the meandering course of Hazzard's life and travels, drawing on events and impressions that would inform much of her writing... Throughout, Olubas offers a discerning, cleareyed perspective of Hazzard's complex character and a persuasive appraisal of what distinguishes her work... An absorbing, well-crafted profile of a supremely gifted writer * Kirkus * Meticulously crafted... Olubas's biography is more than just a map of the author's movements... It's an account, as she puts it, of 'a writer in the process of making herself', chronicling how geographic, political, and psychic influences coalesce in a refined, deeply insightful perspective... This new account of Hazzard's life should confirm her as one of the 20th century's greatest novelists * Vogue * Shirley Hazzard's life reads like something out of a Shirley Hazzard novel - precise, unique, lyrical and always riveting... If there is such a thing as a perfect literary biography, this is it * Daniel Torday * Brigitta Olubas's definitive biography of Hazzard captures in abundance the idealism and ardor of a great cosmopolitan artist, radiant and indispensable * Benjamin Taylor * A woman raised in tumult seeks a higher realm in art and literature in this rich biography... Hazzard emerges as intelligent, complex and determined - fans of her work should check out this insightful portrait * Publishers Weekly * What a tremendous gift to Shirley Hazzard's readers! The whole pageant is here in glorious, granular detail... Brigitta Olubas has unearthed a wealth of archival material, which she sifts with psychological acuity and a profound understanding of Hazzard's work... The result is intimate, proportionate and supremely compelling * Michelle de Kretser *