Kathryn Marie Lette (born 11 November 1958) is an Australian and British author. She came to prominence with her 1979 novel '' Puberty Blues''.

Early life and education

Kathryn Marie Lette was born in November 1958 in Sydney. She appeared in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' of 20 August 1978 pictured in

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

with her friend

Gabrielle Carey Gabrielle Carey (10 January 1959 – 2 May 2023) was an Australian writer who co-wrote the teen novel, '' Puberty Blues'' with Kathy Lette. This novel was the first teenage novel published in Australia that was written by teenagers. Carey bec ...

in an article titled "Buskers Lose Freak Tag". They were standing up for buskers' rights not to be moved on as

Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, the City of Sydney is ...

enforced a 1919 Act of Parliament in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Career

Lette first attracted attention in 1979 as the co-author (with Gabrielle Carey) of '' Puberty Blues'', a strongly autobiographical, teen novel about two 13-year-old southern suburbs girls attempting to improve their social status by ingratiating themselves with the "Greenhills gang" of surfers. The book was made into a film in 1981 and a TV series in 2012. She subsequently became a newspaper columnist and sitcom writer, but returned to the novel form with ''Girls' Night Out'' in 1988 and has since written several more novels and plays, including ''Foetal Attraction'' in 1993, ''Mad Cows'' in 1996 (which was made into a film starring

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

and

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. She first achieved fame as Beth Jordache in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1993–1995), later coming to international prominence with her role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charle ...

) and ''Dead Sexy''. She left Australia for the United Kingdom in 1988 and took British citizenship in 2011. In 2007, she published the book ''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)'' which was turned into an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in 2011 by composer

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as ''Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' and ...

and playwright Timothy Daly; it was premiered at the

Victorian Opera Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 by the Victorian Government as a replacement for the Victoria State Opera. It commenced operations in January 2006 with Richard Gill a ...

, conducted by Richard Gill. The same year, she briefly appeared on ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

'' as a London correspondent, a part of the Global Notebook. In 2008, Lette published ''To Love, Honour and Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part)'', a romantic novel with hints of comedy. With Jessica Adams, Maggie Alderson and

Imogen Edwards-Jones Imogen Edwards-Jones (born June 1968, in Birmingham), is a British writer, author and journalist, who blogs for doyoutravel.com and Get the Gloss. Biography Edwards-Jones was educated at Malvern Girls' College, a boarding independent school in ...

, Lette edited an anthology by prominent women writers of erotic short-stories, ''In Bed with...'' (2009), including contributions from

Louise Doughty Louise Doughty is an English novelist and screenwriter. She is best known for her bestselling novels, including ''Apple Tree Yard''.

Esther Freud Esther Freud is a British novelist, known for her autobiographical novel '' Hideous Kinky'' (1992). She is the daughter of the painter Lucian Freud. Early life and education Born in London in 1963, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverle ...

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 A ...

Joan Smith Joan Alison Smith (born 27 August 1953) is an English journalist and novelist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN and was the Executive Director of Hacked Off. Life and wo ...

Rachel Johnson Rachel Sabiha Johnson (born 3 September 1965) is a British journalist, television presenter, and author who has appeared frequently on political discussion panels, including ''The Pledge (British TV programme), The Pledge'' on Sky News and BBC ...

and

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The Cloning o ...

, each publishing under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

. In April 2009, she contributed to the fourth issue of the literary magazine '' Notes from the Underground'' with a piece honouring her close friend

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, adapted from episodes of the TV series '' R ...

. In November 2009, she received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Southampton Solent University Southampton Solent University (formerly and commonly known as Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near ...

. She teamed with Radox to write a water-resistant book, which was released free online in September 2009, with an aim to encourage women to be selfish with their time.

Recognition

In recognition of her many novels and advocacy of equality, human rights, and physical and mental health both nationally and internationally, Lette was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (''Honoris Causa'') from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

on 20 April 2017.

Personal life

Lette lives in

South Hampstead South Hampstead is an affluent part of the London Borough of Camden in inner north London. It is commonly defined as the area between West End Lane in the west, the Chiltern Main Line (south), Broadhurst Gardens north and north-west followed ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

. She has two children (

Julius Julius may refer to: People * Julius (name), a masculine given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Julius (nomen), the name of a Roman family (includes a list of Ancient Romans with the name) ** Julius Caesar (100– ...

and Georgina) with fellow Australian

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is an Australian-British barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle T ...

, whom she met while still married to Kim Williams, when appearing on Robertson's TV panel debate show ''Hypotheticals''. Julius (known as Jules) has

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's, is a diagnostic label that has historically been used to describe a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and no ...

: he has embarked on a career as an actor, and plays the character of Jason Haynes in ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

''. Lette and Robertson separated in 2017. Lette has Australian citizenship, and became a naturalised British citizen. She supports the

UK Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade ...

. In August 2014, she was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

Books

Novels

* '' Puberty Blues'' (1979, with Gabrielle Carey) * ''Girls' Night Out'' (1988) * ''The Llama Parlour'' (1992) * ''Foetal Attraction'' (1993) * ''Mad Cows'' (1996) * ''Altar Ego'' (1998) * ''Nip 'n' Tuck'' (2001) * ''Dead Sexy'' (2003) * ''How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)'' (2006) * ''To Love, Honour and Betray (Till Divorce Us Do Part)'' (2008) * ''The Boy Who Fell to Earth'' (2012) * ''Love is Blind'' (2013) * ''Courting Trouble'' (2014) * ''Best Laid Plans'' (2017) * ''HRT: Husband Replacement Therapy'' (2020) * ''Till Death, or a Little Light Maiming, Do Us Part'' (2022) * ''The Revenge Club'' (2024)

Other

* ''In Bed with...'' (2009, anthology, editor)) * ''Men: a User's Guide'' (2010, humour) * ''Go to Husband School'' (2025, article in

The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lette, Kathy 1958 births Living people 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists Australian expatriates in England Australian women novelists Writers from Sydney People from the Sutherland Shire Labour Party (UK) people 20th-century British novelists British socialists British republicans British women novelists British feminist writers Australian socialist feminists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British women writers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom