Lette, Kathy

(Australian, 1958– )

Kathy Lette first made her name with a novel about puberty published while still in her teens, and she has since worked as a newspaper columnist, television and radio presenter, and scriptwriter. Girls’ Night Out (1991) follows seven friends on a night on the town where the alcohol flows, the girls’ tongues loosen, and their secrets and thoughts about the men in their lives are revealed. Foetal Attraction (1993) tells the story of a woman made pregnant by her self-regarding television executive lover, and Mad Cows (1996) opens as a woman takes her baby out for the first time and gets arrested for shoplifting at Harrods. Altar Ego (1998) is the story of a bride who runs out on her own wedding. Lette's fiction is lightweight and upbeat, and her gift for packing each page with quotable one-liners and sparky dialogue has ensured her widespread popularity.

Helen Fielding, Fay Weldon, Helen Simpson  WB