Patricia Wrightson
| Patricia Wrightson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alice Patricia Furlonger 19 July 1921 Lismore, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 15 March 2010 (aged 88) Lismore, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Writer, editor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Period | 1955–2004 |
| Genre | Children's literature, folklore, magic realism |
| Subject | Fantasy (nonfiction) |
| Notable awards |
Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing 1988 Order of the British Empire |
Patricia Wrightson OBE (19 June 1921 – 15 March 2010) was an Australian writer of several highly regarded and influential children's books. Her reputation came to rest largely on her magic realist titles. Her books, including the widely praised The Nargun and The Stars (1973), were among the first Australian books for children to draw on Australian Aboriginal mythology. Her 27 books have been published in 16 languages.
For her "lasting contribution" as a children's writer she received the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986.
She was born on 19 June 1921 in Lismore, New South Wales. She was educated through the State Correspondence School for Isolated Children and St Catherine's College.
During World War II, she worked in a munitions factory in Sydney. After her marriage in 1943, she worked as secretary and administrator at Bonalbo District Hospital, from 1946 to 1960, and Sydney District Nursing Association, from 1960 to 1964. She served as Assistant Editor and later editor of the School Magazine, in Sydney, from 1964 to 1970, a literary publication for children.
She wrote 27 books during her lifetime and entwined Australian Aboriginal mythology into her writing. As her writing developed, Wrightson's work revealed two key characteristics: her use of Aboriginal folklore, with its rich fantasy and mystery, and her understanding of the importance of the land. Author, editor and academic Mark MacLeod wrote that "Wrightson thought that it might be possible to reconcile Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian cultures and create a new kind of pan-Australian narrative, in which the human characters from both cultures were strongly aware of and influenced by the metaphysical world that Indigenous Australians had known for 60 000 years." As a non-indigenous person, Wrightson's use of Aboriginal myths and legends in her fiction was questioned by other writers.
She died of "natural causes" on 15 March 2010, a few days after entering a New South Wales hospital.
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