Stead, Christina, 1902–83, Australian novelist, b. Rockdale, New South Wales. She worked in the United States in the 1940s, emigrated to England in 1953, then returned to Australia in 1974. Her novels, written in the distinctive language of the interior monologist, treat the problem of evil, particularly the destruction wrought by human obsessions. In addition to The Man Who Loved Children (1940), her masterpiece, her novels include Seven Poor Men of Sydney (1934), the autobiographical For Love Alone (1944), A Little Tea, A Little Chat (1948), The Little Hotel (1975) Miss Herbert (The Suburban Wife) (1976), and the posthumous I'm Dying Laughing (1987). Stead also wrote novellas, short stories, and essays.

Bibliography

See Christina Stead: A Biography (1994) by H. Rowley; studies by J. Lidoff (1982), D. Brydon (1987), and S. Sheridan (1988).

Stead, Christina (Ellen)

(born July 17, 1902, Rockdale, Sydney, Austl.—died March 31, 1983, Sydney) Australian novelist. She traveled widely and at various times lived in London, Paris, and the U.S., where in the early 1940s she worked as a screenwriter for MGM. She returned to Australia in 1974. Her first published work was a collection of short stories, The Salzburg Tales (1934). She is best remembered for her novel The Man Who Loved Children (1940), the story of a disintegrating family.