Janet Barron
Red in Banker’s Bed
Christina Stead, A Life of Letters
By Chris Williams
Virago 341pp £11.95
'Sting me (but only with honey, please) to keep me buzzing,’ Christina Stead appealed late in her life. She was at last beginning to gain recognition for her innovative fiction, her novels were being reprinted and reviewers were appreciative of her new writing. It is typical that, at this moment of fresh fame, she started having problems with a new electric typewriter which seemed to be out of control and she couldn’t work out how to change the ribbon.
Chris Williams’s biography of Christina Stead compiles a wealth of fascinating anecdotes drawn from previously unpublished archive sources. ‘I was determined to make enough money some day to have the right clothes,’ Stead confesses: ‘I must admit that I’ve got rather a weakness for shoes. And gloves. Yes, and hats’.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Richard Flanagan's Question 7 is this year's winner of the @BGPrize.
In her review from our June issue, @rosalyster delves into Tasmania, nuclear physics, romance and Chekhov.
Rosa Lyster - Kiss of Death
Rosa Lyster: Kiss of Death - Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
literaryreview.co.uk
‘At times, Orbital feels almost like a long poem.’
@sam3reynolds on Samantha Harvey’s Orbital, the winner of this year’s @TheBookerPrizes
Sam Reynolds - Islands in the Sky
Sam Reynolds: Islands in the Sky - Orbital by Samantha Harvey
literaryreview.co.uk
Nick Harkaway, John le Carré's son, has gone back to the 1960s with a new novel featuring his father's anti-hero, George Smiley.
But is this the missing link in le Carré’s oeuvre, asks @ddguttenplan, or is there something awry?
D D Guttenplan - Smiley Redux
D D Guttenplan: Smiley Redux - Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway
literaryreview.co.uk