Christina Stead (1902 – 1983), childhood resident of Lydham Hall, was one of Australia’s most significant novelists, and her Sydney upbringing informed her internationally acclaimed fiction. Novels such as The Man Who Loved Children (1940) and For Love Alone (1944) combined bold narrative experimentation with unflinching social commentary in works that were defining for Australian literary modernism.
Item # 2645328 in the National Library of Australia collection comprises Christina’s manuscript and typescript drafts of prose; notes, background material and jottings relating to her literary output; correspondence; book reviews and other papers.
Currently, these only be accessed in person at the National Library in Canberra.
The St George Historical Society has proudly donated $1,000 to the 2026 Appeal to digitise these records and those of over twenty other Australian women writers. Many of these women were not just creative innovators, but also extraordinary advocates for change.
We encourage our supporters to help to share this collection with the world through Trove.
Click here to learn more and make a tax-deductible donation.