Margaret Barbalet

Margaret Evelyn Barbalet (born 1949) is an Australian novelist, historian and diplomat.

Margaret Barbalet
BornMargaret Evelyn Hardy
1949 (age 73–74)
Adelaide, South Australia
OccupationNovelist, historian and diplomat
Alma materUniversity of Adelaide
Website
www.margaretbarbalet.com

Biography

Born Margaret Evelyn Hardy in Adelaide, South Australia, Barbalet grew up in Tasmania.[1] She completed a Master of Arts in history at the University of Adelaide in 1973.[2]

She was commissioned to write a history of the Adelaide Children's Hospital to celebrate its centenary. The book was launched by Geoffrey Dutton in November 1975.[3] Her second book, Far from a Low Gutter Girl, was based in part on letters by former State wards about their grievances with the system.[4]

Barbalet then turned to fiction, publishing novels and children's books interspersed with short stories, three of which were included in Canberra Tales: Stories, published in 1988.[5]

Aside from writing, she has pursued a varied career, working as a history lecturer and public servant. From 1990 to 2008 she worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including in Kuala Lumpur as second secretary at the Australian High Commission in 1996. She was appointed first secretary at the Australian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates from 2005 to 2008.[1][6]

Works

Non-fiction
  • The Adelaide Children's Hospital 1876–1976: A history, 1975
  • Far from a Low Gutter Girl: The forgotten world of state wards, South Australia, 1887–1940, 1983

Novels
  • Blood in the Rain, 1986
  • Steel Beach, 1988
  • Lady, Baby, Gypsy, Queen, 1992
  • The Presence of Angels, 2001

Picture books
  • The Wolf, illustrated by Jane Tanner, 1991
  • Reggie: Queen of the Street, illustrated by Andrew McLean, 2003

References
  1. "Barbalet, Margaret Evelyn". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. "Margaret Barbalet". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. "Book Records Children's Hospital's Century of Social and Medical Progress". The Coromandel Times. Vol. 30, no. 19. South Australia. 18 December 1975. p. 2. Retrieved 29 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "The Harsh World of State Wards". The Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 527. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 September 1983. p. 16. Retrieved 29 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Canberra Tales: Stories". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  6. "More Than Oil" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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