White, Patrick (1912-1990), an Australian novelist, won the 1973 Nobel Prize in literature. He became the first Australian writer to receive this high award. He also was named Australian of the Year in 1973.
White wrote emotionally complex and stylistically rich fiction. He often used the stream of consciousness technique, which describes in detail the thoughts that flow through the mind of the characters.
The major characters in White’s novels tend to be isolated from those around them and draw, for the most part, on their own inner resources. In his first novel, Happy Valley (1939), White wrote an ironic account of life in a dreary Australian village. He gained international recognition with his fourth novel, The Tree of Man (1955), which tells the story of an Australian family. Voss (1957) describes an explorer’s expedition across Australia in the mid-1800’s. White’s other novels include Riders in the Chariot (1961), The Eye of the Storm (1973), and A Fringe of Leaves (1977). White wrote an autobiography, Flaws in the Glass (1982). He also wrote plays, poetry, and short stories. Patrick Victor Martindale White was born on May 28, 1912, in London. He died on Sept. 30, 1990.
