Christina Stead

Anna Snaith (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 9.1.1: Australian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Susan Kossew (Monash University)

Dates

Born 17 Jul 1902
Died 31 Mar 1983
Activity 1934-1983

Places

Born in Australia
Active in Australia; Belgium; England; France; United States

Activities

Primary

Novelist

Resources

Stead's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Christina Stead is one of Australia's greatest novelists, but she has not attracted the critical or popular attention her writing deserves. Born in Rockdale, near Sydney, Australia in 1902, Stead left her homeland in 1928, living subsequently in London, Paris, Brussels, New York and Hollywood before returning to her country of origin in 1969. She lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving restlessly from country to country, and this cosmopolitanism contributed to her neglect by critics. Never completely at home in London, her relationship with Australia was decidedly ambivalent. Prior to 1965, none of her novels were published in Australia and she was denied the Britannica Australia Award for Literature in 1967 on the grounds that her years abroad called into question her Australian citizenship.…

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1631 words

Citation: Snaith, Anna. "Christina Stead". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4198, accessed 26 November 2024.]