Jean Spender

Jean Maud Spender, Lady Spender, (1901 – 25 March 1970) Australian writer, was born Jean Maud Henderson at Burwood, New South Wales in 1901. As J. M. Spender she wrote crime fiction.[1]

On 6 April 1925 she married the then barrister Percy Spender at Coraki in Northern New South Wales. Percy Spender later became a politician and diplomat and was made KCVO, KBE, QC. The couple had two sons.[2] One son, John Spender, was also a politician and diplomat. The other, Peter Spender, wrote and produced several documentary films.[3]

Jean Spender wrote racy and successful crime thrillers, most of which are set in Sydney with a lightly disguised Percy Spender as the hero.[4]

Spender was an aunt of Dale Spender, feminist scholar, teacher and writer, and the grandmother of Allegra Spender, elected as the Member of Parliament for Wentworth in 2022.[5]

Jean Spender died on 25 March 1970 in Sydney.

  1. ^ Austlit. "J. M. Spender | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. ^ Lowe, David, "Sir Percy Claude Spender (1897–1985)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 27 October 2023
  3. ^ Austlit. "Peter Spender | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Return to Spender". Archived from the original on 21 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Blue blood and green cred".