Shirley Hazzard

Discover the extraordinary life of Shirley Hazzard, the acclaimed author of The Transit of Venus and a writer of "shocking wisdom" and "intellectual thrill" (The New Yorker), in this compelling biography.
Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life tells the remarkable story of a great modern novelist. Brigitta Olubas, Hazzard's authorized biographer, draws on Hazzard's fiction, an extensive archive of letters, diaries, and notebooks, and the memories of surviving friends and colleagues to create a resonant portrait of an exceptional woman.

This biography explores the distinctive times of Hazzard's life, from her youth and middle age to her widowhood and years of decline, tracing the complex processes of self-fashioning that lay beneath her formidable, beguiling presence. Olubas takes us to the places Hazzard wrote about with characteristic lyricism, accompanied by rare photographs from Hazzard's collection.

As the last of a generation of self-taught writers and devotees of a great literary tradition, Hazzard's depth of perception and expressive gifts have earned her iconic status. Olubas brilliantly brings her to life, deepening our understanding of the singular woman behind some of the most enduring fiction of the past sixty years. In the words of Dwight Garner in The New York Times, "Hazzard's stories feel timeless because she understands, as she writes in one of them: 'We are human beings, not rational ones.'" Shirley Hazzard: A Writing Life is the story of a remarkable human being.