Hazzard and Harrower

Reviewed By  Nan van Dissel       October 24, 2024

 

Author  Edited by Brigitta Olubas, Susan Wyndham

Distributor:      New South Books
ISBN:                 9781742238180
Publisher:         UNSW Press
Release Date:   May 2024  

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The Letters

Shirley Hazzard and Elizabeth Harrower, although two Australian born literary luminaries, have often been underappreciated and ignored by many of their contemporaries and readers.

In “Hazzard and Harrower The Letters”, Brigitta Olubas Professor of English at the University of New South Wales and the official biographer of Hazzard, in conjunction with celebrated journalist, Susan Wyndham, has organised and edited Hazzard’s and Harrower’s hundreds of letters, postcards and memos during the 40 years of their correspondence (around 400,000 words) into an extraordinary account of their complex relationship.

Harrower from her home in Sydney and Hazzard from apartments in New York, Naples and Capri, exchanged opinions and judgements; their long-standing, long-distance friendship developing through their correspondence of over four decades.  The letters, not only provide incredible insight into the lives of these talented writers and literary world around them, but also demonstrate how they provided encouragement and personal and practical support to each other.

 Their correspondence provides the readers with their liberal progressive views on domestic and world politics; events covered include Watergate, the dismissal of the Whitlam government, opening of the Sydney Opera House, civil unrest in the United States, Darwin cyclone and Sydney Olympics.  

To aid the readers, the authors have grouped the letters into three periods with a brief synopsis of events, and they have also provided comprehensive notes and an excellent index. To achieve maximum enjoyment from this book, some readers may need to refresh their knowledge of events and identities, to which the women refer in their correspondence.