Shirley Hazzard (1931–2016)
Author of The Great Fire
About the Author
Shirley Hazzard was born in Sydney, Australia on January 30, 1931. Before becoming an author in the early 1960s, she went to work for the British Combined Intelligence Services in Hong Kong, was an employee of the British High Commissioner's Office in Wellington, New Zealand, and was a technical show more assistant to under-developed countries for the United Nations. Her first book, Cliffs of Fall and Other Stories, was published in 1963. Her other books include The Evening of the Holiday, People in Glass Houses, The Bay of Noon, Greene on Capri, Countenance of Truth: The United Nations and the Waldheim Case, Defeat of an Ideal, and The Ancient Shore: Dispatches From Naples written with her husband Francis Steegmuller. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1980 for The Transit of Venus and the National Book Award for fiction in 2003 for The Great Fire. She died on December 12, 2016 at the age of 85. (Bowker Author Biography) Shirley Hazzard's books include "The Evening of the Holiday", "The Bay of Noon", & "The Transit of Venus" (winner of the 1981 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction). (Publisher Provided) show less
Image credit: Christopher Peterson
Works by Shirley Hazzard
Hazzard, Shirley Archive 1 copy
Associated Works
The Condé Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places (2007) — Contributor — 256 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1931-01-30
- Date of death
- 2016-12-12
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- Australia (birth)
USA - Birthplace
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Place of death
- Manhattan, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- Naples, Italy
New York, New York, USA
Capri, Italy
New Zealand
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, UK - Education
- Queenwood School for Girls
- Occupations
- author
intelligence agent - Relationships
- Steegmuller, Francis (husband)
- Organizations
- United Nations Secretariat
- Awards and honors
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award (Literature, 1966)
- Agent
- Sheil Land Associates Ltd
Members
Reviews
The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard
The writing in this book is impeccable -- precise, evocative, at times witty. But overall, the book is dull.
Read in Naples. Lovely and exquisite, and full of feeling for this crazily vibrant city. Gorgeous prose.
Weirdly good. Beautiful, off kilter writing. Strange segues, but a long fascinating tale which perfectly describes the twists and turns and come rounds of life. A pretty amazing book.
Hazzard begins Ancient Shore with an abbreviated autobiography of her childhood and how she discovered Italy. From there, different essays connect Naples to its culture, politics, history, and endless charm. Hazzard remembers Naples of the 1950s so there is a nostalgic air to her writing. Because Ancient Shore is a little dated, I wondered if some of the details are still accurate. I guess I will have to travel there to find out!
Hazzard's husband, Francis Steegmuller, steps in for a story about a violent mugging he experienced. His tale is terrible. Terrible because he was warned many times over not to carry his bag a certain way. Terrible because the violence caused great ever-lasting injury. Terrible, above all, because he knew better. This was not his first time in Naples.… (more)
Hazzard's husband, Francis Steegmuller, steps in for a story about a violent mugging he experienced. His tale is terrible. Terrible because he was warned many times over not to carry his bag a certain way. Terrible because the violence caused great ever-lasting injury. Terrible, above all, because he knew better. This was not his first time in Naples.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 14
- Also by
- 5
- Members
- 4,472
- Popularity
- #5,606
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 94
- ISBNs
- 116
- Languages
- 6
- Favorited
- 14
