Correspondence of Shirley Hazzard, Muriel Spark and Francis Steegmuller, 1963-1996

The collection comprises fifty-seven handwritten and typed letters, the majority of which were written by Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist Shirley Hazzard to her close friend British novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist Muriel Spark, with additional letters written by Hazzard's husband, American biographer, translator and fiction writer, Francis Steegmuller to Spark and four from Spark to Hazzard. The correspondence reveals Hazzard's feelings and thoughts about her writing, travels, husband and social networks, and provide an insight into the life of a significant Australian expatriate writer living and working in the international literary arena; the close relationship between Hazzard and Spark and the influence they had on each other and their writing; insights into women writers living and working in an international literary scene; the inside workings of The New Yorker Magazine; and American politics and society, with references to the Watergate scandal.