Patrick Victor Martindale White was a highly regarded Australian author, born in London in 1912 to Australian grazier Martindale White and his English wife Ruth Withycombe. White's family had strong connections to New South Wales, with his paternal grandfather owning properties in the region. Due to his asthma, White was frequently moved between schools in search of a better climate, eventually attending Cranbrook School in Sydney and later transferring to Tudor House boarding school. From a young age, White's mother encouraged his artistic pursuits, taking him to the theatre and nurturing his love for the arts.
White is widely considered one of the major English-language novelists of the 20th century and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973. His writing is known for its epic and psychological narrative art, and he introduced a new continent into literature. White spent his early years in Sydney before studying at Cambridge and later serving in World War II, where he met his lifelong partner, Manoly Lascaris. The pair returned to Australia after the war, and White went on to publish twelve novels, two short story collections, eight plays, and a miscellany of non-fiction. His writing employs shifting narrative vantages and stream-of-consciousness technique.
From 1947 to 1964, White and Lascaris lived a retired life on the outskirts of Sydney, but after moving to the inner suburb of Centennial Park, White became increasingly passionate about activism. He championed the rights of the disadvantaged, Indigenous people, and the promotion and teaching of art in a culture he deemed often backward and conservative. White's home became a hub for notable figures from all levels of society. Although he received critical acclaim and was hailed as a national hero after his Nobel win, White had a complex relationship with the Australian public and ordinary readers. His books were initially well-received, but by the end of the century, his novels had mostly fallen out of print, and he was no longer included in university and school syllabi. However, interest in White's books was revived around his centenary in 2012, and all of his works are now available again.