Christina Stead (17 July 1902 – 31 March 1983) was an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. She was born in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale, New South Wales, and died at Balmain Hospital, Sydney. Christina Stead was a committed Marxist, although she was never a member of the Communist Party. She spent much of her life outside Australia.