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Blanche d'Alpuget Dies at 82

Her family said complications from influenza caused her death, with a final message to the ABC prompting national tributes.

Overview

  • D'Alpuget's family confirmed she has died and said complications from influenza were the cause, sharing a final message that urged love and kindness.
  • She built a long career as a novelist and biographer, writing both fiction and nonfiction that critics called definitive in places.
  • Her best-known work was the biography of Bob Hawke, whom she first met in Jakarta in 1970 and later married after a widely publicised relationship.
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas issued public tributes that praised her intellect, warmth and literary gifts.
  • Her death is likely to renew public interest in her books and in debates about her public role as a writer who became part of a high-profile political story.