Christina Stead
Encyclopedia
Christina Stead was an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations.
. Stead was a committed Marxist
, although she was never a member of the Communist Party
. Although her birth and death were both in Sydney, Stead lived many years abroad in England and the United States. She first departed Australia in 1928, and worked in a Parisian bank from 1930 to 1935. Stead also became involved with the writer, broker and Marxist political economist William J. Blake
, with whom she travelled to Spain (leaving at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
) and to the USA. They married in 1952, once Blake was able to obtain a divorce from his previous wife. It was after his death from stomach cancer in 1968 that she returned to Australia. Indeed, Stead only returned to Australia after she was denied the Britannica-Australia prize on the grounds that she had "ceased to be an Australian."
Stead wrote 15 novels and several volumes of short stories in her lifetime. She taught 'Workshop in the Novel' at New York University
in 1943 and 1944, and also worked as a Hollywood screenwriter in the 1940s, contributing to the Madame Curie
biopic and the John Ford
and John Wayne
war movie, They Were Expendable
. Her first novel, Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934) dealt with the lives of radicals and dockworkers, but she was not a practitioner of social realism
. Stead's best-known novel, with the ironic title The Man Who Loved Children
, is largely based on her own childhood, and was first published in 1940. It was not until the poet Randall Jarrell
wrote the introduction for a new American edition in 1965 that the novel began to receive a larger audience. In 2005, the magazine Time
included this work in their "100 Best Novels from 1923–2005", and in 2010 American author Jonathan Franzen
hailed the novel as a "masterpiece" in The New York Times
. Stead's Letty Fox: Her Luck
, often regarded as an equally fine novel, was officially banned in Australia for several years because it was considered amoral and salacious.
Stead set her only British novel, Cotter's England partly in Gateshead
(called Bridgehead in the novel). She was in Newcastle upon Tyne
in the summer of 1949, accompanied by her friend Anne Dooley (née Kelly), a local woman, who was the model for Nellie Cotter, the extraordinary heroine of the book. Anne was no doubt responsible for Stead's reasonable attempt at conveying the local accent. Her letters indicate that she had taken on Tyneside speech and become deeply concerned with the people around her. The American title of the book is Dark Places of the Heart.
Short stories
Letters
Translations
Secondary sources
Biography
Her father was the marine biologist and pioneer conservationist David George SteadDavid George Stead
David George Stead was an Australian marine biologist, ichthyologist, oceanographer, conservationist and writer. He was born at St Leonards in Sydney, and educated at public schools and the Sydney Technical College. In 1909 he was a founder of, and during its early years the main driving force...
. Stead was a committed Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, although she was never a member of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
. Although her birth and death were both in Sydney, Stead lived many years abroad in England and the United States. She first departed Australia in 1928, and worked in a Parisian bank from 1930 to 1935. Stead also became involved with the writer, broker and Marxist political economist William J. Blake
William J. Blake
William J. Blake was a broker, novelist and Marxist political economist. His birth name was Wilhelm Blech. His first marriage ended in divorce, and he then married Australian novelist Christina Stead, with whom he had been living since the late 1920s. Blake's father was physician, surgeon, and...
, with whom she travelled to Spain (leaving at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
) and to the USA. They married in 1952, once Blake was able to obtain a divorce from his previous wife. It was after his death from stomach cancer in 1968 that she returned to Australia. Indeed, Stead only returned to Australia after she was denied the Britannica-Australia prize on the grounds that she had "ceased to be an Australian."
Stead wrote 15 novels and several volumes of short stories in her lifetime. She taught 'Workshop in the Novel' at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1943 and 1944, and also worked as a Hollywood screenwriter in the 1940s, contributing to the Madame Curie
Madame Curie (film)
Madame Curie is a 1943 biographical film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sidney Franklin from a screenplay by Paul Osborn, Paul H. Rameau, and Aldous Huxley , adapted from the biography by Eve Curie....
biopic and the John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
and John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
war movie, They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
. Her first novel, Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934) dealt with the lives of radicals and dockworkers, but she was not a practitioner of social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
. Stead's best-known novel, with the ironic title The Man Who Loved Children
The Man Who Loved Children
The Man Who Loved Children is a 1940 novel by Australian writer Christina Stead. It wasn't until a reissue edition in 1965, with an introduction by poet Randall Jarrell, that it found widespread critical acclaim and popularity. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language...
, is largely based on her own childhood, and was first published in 1940. It was not until the poet Randall Jarrell
Randall Jarrell
Randall Jarrell was an American poet, literary critic, children's author, essayist, and novelist. He was the 11th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a role which now holds the title of US Poet Laureate.-Life:Jarrell was a native of Nashville, Tennessee...
wrote the introduction for a new American edition in 1965 that the novel began to receive a larger audience. In 2005, the magazine Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
included this work in their "100 Best Novels from 1923–2005", and in 2010 American author Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen is an American novelist and essayist. His third novel, The Corrections , a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction...
hailed the novel as a "masterpiece" in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Stead's Letty Fox: Her Luck
Letty Fox: Her Luck
The Australian-born author Christina Stead’s sixth novel, Letty Fox: Her Luck, is an energetic tribute to the drama of the urban environment and its role in socializing its occupants. Published in 1946, Stead wrote the lengthy Letty Fox after living in New York City for seven years...
, often regarded as an equally fine novel, was officially banned in Australia for several years because it was considered amoral and salacious.
Stead set her only British novel, Cotter's England partly in Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
(called Bridgehead in the novel). She was in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in the summer of 1949, accompanied by her friend Anne Dooley (née Kelly), a local woman, who was the model for Nellie Cotter, the extraordinary heroine of the book. Anne was no doubt responsible for Stead's reasonable attempt at conveying the local accent. Her letters indicate that she had taken on Tyneside speech and become deeply concerned with the people around her. The American title of the book is Dark Places of the Heart.
Works
Novels- Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934)
- The Beauties and Furies (1936)
- House of all Nations (1938)
- The Man Who Loved ChildrenThe Man Who Loved ChildrenThe Man Who Loved Children is a 1940 novel by Australian writer Christina Stead. It wasn't until a reissue edition in 1965, with an introduction by poet Randall Jarrell, that it found widespread critical acclaim and popularity. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language...
(1940) - For Love AloneFor Love AloneFor Love Alone is a 1986 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace and starring Helen Buday, Hugo Weaving and Sam Neill. The screenplay was written by Wallace, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Christina Stead. The film marked the screen debut of Naomi Watts...
(1945) - Modern Women in Love (1945) edited with William J. Blake
- Letty Fox: Her LuckLetty Fox: Her LuckThe Australian-born author Christina Stead’s sixth novel, Letty Fox: Her Luck, is an energetic tribute to the drama of the urban environment and its role in socializing its occupants. Published in 1946, Stead wrote the lengthy Letty Fox after living in New York City for seven years...
(1946) - A Little Tea. A Little Chat (1948)
- The People with the Dogs (1952)
- Dark Places of the Heart (1966)
- Cotters' England (1967)
- Australian Writers and their work (1969)
- The Little Hotel: A Novel (1973)
- Miss Herbert: The Suburban Wife (1976)
- I'm Dying Laughing: The HumouristI'm Dying Laughing: The HumouristI'm Dying Laughing: The Humourist is a novel by Christina Stead . It was published posthumously by Virago Press in 1986, edited and with a preface by Ron Geering.-Plot:...
(1986) - The Palace With Several Sides: A Sort of Love Story (1986)
Short stories
- The Salzburg Tales (1934)
- The Puzzleheaded Girl: Four Novellas (1965) (containing The Puzzleheaded Girl, The Dianas, The Rightangled Creek and Girl from the Beach)
- A Christina Stead Reader (1978) edited by Jean B. Read
- Ocean of Story: The Uncollected Stories of Christina Stead, edited by R. G. Geering (1985)
Letters
- Web of Friendship: Selected letters, 1928–1973, edited by R.G. Geering (1992)
- Talking Into the Typewriter: Selected letters, 1973–1983, edited by R.G. Geering (1992)
- Dearest Munx: The Letters of Christina Stead and William J. Blake, edited by Margaret Harris (2006) ISBN 0-522-85173-8
Translations
- In balloon and Bathyscaphe by Auguste PiccardAuguste PiccardAuguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer.-Biography:Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland...
(1955) - Colour of Asia by Fernando Gigon (1956)
Secondary sources
- Pender, Anne Christina Stead, Satirist (2002) ISBN 9781863350839
- Peterson, Teresa. The Enigmatic Christina Stead: A Provocative Re-Reading (2001) ISBN 0522849229 Review
- Rowley, Hazel. Christina Stead: A Biography (1993) ISBN 085561384X
- Williams, Chris. "Christina Stead: A Life of Letters" (1989) ISBN 0869140469
Quotes
External links
- Christina Stead Centenary Essays at Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature
- "The night of which no one speaks": Christina Stead's art as struggle by Susan Lever, Journal of the South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies Number 37 (1993)
- Biographical sketch at Books and Writers
- Annotated bibliography and biographical sketch by Perry Middlemiss
- Stead's plaque on the Sydney Writers Walk