Hazzard, Shirley (1931–)

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Hazzard, Shirley (1931–)

Australian novelist and short-story writer. Born Jan 30, 1931, in Sydney, Australia; dau. of Reginald (government official) and Catherine (Stein) Hazzard; attended Queenswood College; m. Francis Steegmuller (writer), 1963 (died 1994).

Worked for British Intelligence in Hong Kong (1947–48) and for British High Commissioner's Office, Wellington, New Zealand (1940–50); was general service category assistant, Technical Assistance to Underdeveloped Countries, at United Nations in NY (1952–62), serving in Italy (1957); became US citizen; wrote Defeat of an Ideal: A Study of the Self-destruction of the United Nations (1973); won National Book Award for The Great Fire (2003); other novels include The Evening of the Holiday (1966), People in Glass Houses (1967), The Bay of Noon (1970), and The Transit of Venus (1980); short-story collections include Cliffs of Fall (1963); nonfiction includes Coming of Age in Australia (1985), and Countenance of Truth (1990).