Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 1917–19 July 2010[ 1] [ 2] ) was an Australian author. He wrote many books, among them The Sundowners (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and The High Commissioner (1966), the first of a long series of popular detective fiction works featuring Sydney Police Inspector Scobie Malone . A number of Cleary's works have been the subject of film or television adaptations.
Biography
Early Life Cleary was born in Erskineville , Sydney and educated at Marist Brothers College Randwick. He left school in 1932 at the age of fourteen, and spent the following eight years doing a variety of jobs, notably as a commercial artist for Austral Toon under Eric Porter .[ 3] He enlisted in the Australian army on 27 May 1940 and served in the Middle East before being transferred to the Military History Unit. He served for a time in New Guinea , where his clerk was Lee Robinson , and was discharged on 10 October 1945 with the rank of lieutenant.[ 4]
Writing Career Cleary began writing regularly in the army and in 1945 won equal first prize in a competition for the ABC for his play Safe Horizon .[ 5] He also began submitting his short stories to American magazines.[ 6]
His first novel was the 1947 work, You Can't See 'Round Corners , which dwelt on the life of an army deserter wanted for the sensational murder of his girlfriend in wartime Sydney. He started writing this in the army and finished it on board a ship en route to London where Cleary had hoped to find work as a screenwriter.[ 3] Instead he worked as a journalist for the Australia News and Information Bureau from 1948–50, a job he continued in New York from 1950–51.[ 7] All this time he kept writing short stories and novels. The success of The Sundowners , which ultimately sold over three million copies and was sold to the movies, meant he could write full time.
Cleary and his wife then lived in Italy for a year and in 1953 they returned home after seven years away.[ 8] However he continued to travel extensively, living abroad again for some stints, and many of his novels were set in exotic locations.
He occasionally wrote screenplays, including an adaptation of his novels The Green Helment and The Sundowners (1960).
Cleary and his wife had two daughters, one of whom died of cancer. He died on 19 July 2010, aged 92.
Awards the Australian Broadcasting Commission prize for radio drama in 1944
the Australian Literary Society's Crouch Medal for Best Australian Novel in 1950
an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel (Peter's Pence ) in 1975
the Australian Crime Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
1996 – Ned Kelly Awards Lifelong Contribution to the Crime, Mystery and Detective Genres[ 9]
2004 – Ned Kelly Awards Best Novel for Degrees of Connection [ 9]
Bibliography
Novels You Can't See 'Round Corners (1947) - an Australian soldier deserts during World War II
The Long Shadow (1949) - a man goes on the run in rural New South Wales for a crime he did not commit[ 10]
Just Let Me Be (1950)[ 11]
The Sundowners (1952)
The Climate of Courage (1954)
Justin Bayard (1955) (aka Dust in the Sun )
The Green Helmet (1957)
Back of Sunset (1959) - set against the background of the Royal Flying Doctor Service
North From Thursday (1960) - set against the background of a volcano eruption in New Guinea based on the 1951 eruption at Mount Lamington
Strike Me Lucky (1961) - co-wrote with his wife Joy[ 12] - Cleay later adapted this into a play[ 13]
The Country of Marriage (1962)
Forests of the Night (1963) - set in Burma
A Flight of Chariots (1963)
The Fall of an Eagle (1965) - set in Anatolia
The High Commissioner (1966) - the first Scobie Malone novel
The Pulse of Danger (1966) - set in Bhutan
The Long Pursuit (1967) - about a group of people escaping the Japanese following the Battle of Singapore in World War II
Season of Doubt (1968) - set in Beirut
Remember Jack Hoxie (1969)[ 13]
Helga's Web (1970) - Scobie Malone novel
Mask of the Andes (1971) (aka The Liberators ) - set in Bolivia
Man's Estate (1972) (aka The Ninth Marquess )
Ransom (1973) - Scobie Malone novel[ 14]
The Safe House (1975)[ 15]
Peter's Pence (1975)
A Sound of Lightning (1976)[ 16]
High Road to China (1977)
Vortex (1979)[ 17]
The Vacant Mine (1979) - uncompleted novel
The Beaufort Sisters (1979)
A Very Private War (1980)
The Faraway Drums (1981)
The Golden Sabre (1981)
Spearfield's Daughter (1982)
The Phoenix Tree (1984)
The City of Fading Light (1985) - set in 1930s Berlin
Dragons at the Party (1987) - Scobie Malone novel
Now and Then, Amen (1988) - Scobie Malone novel
Babylon South (1989) - Scobie Malone novel
You, the Jury (1990) (reprint of 1950 Just Let Me Be )
Murder Song (1990) - Scobie Malone novel
Pride's Harvest (1991) - Scobie Malone novel
Dark Summer (1992) - Scobie Malone novel
Bleak Spring (1993) - Scobie Malone novel
Autumn Maze (1994) - Scobie Malone novel
Winter Chill (1995) - Scobie Malone novel
Endpeace (1996) - Scobie Malone novel
Five Ring Circus (1998) - Scobie Malone novel
A Different Turf (1998) - Scobie Malone novel
Dilemma (1999) - Scobie Malone novel
Bear Pit (2000) - Scobie Malone novel
Yesterday's Shadow (2001) - Scobie Malone novel
The Easy Sin (2002) - Scobie Malone novel
Degrees of Connection (2003) - Scobie Malone novel
Miss Ambar Regrets (2004)
Morning's Gone (2006)
Four-Cornered Circle (2007)
Short stories Brandy Martin and My Old Man (1945)[ 18]
My Heart is Dead and Gone [ 19]
Hullo Joe (1945)
These Small Glories (1946) - a collection of his short stories
Late Date (1946)[ 20]
The Stranger (1946)[ 21]
See You on the Bus (1946)[ 22]
Pillar of Salt (1953)
No Taste for Trouble (1954)[ 23]
Films Dust in the Sun (Justin Bayard ) (1958), starring Jill Adams and Ken Wayne - original novel only
The Siege of Pinchgut (1959) - screenplay only
The Sundowners (1960), starring Robert Mitchum , Deborah Kerr , Glynis Johns , Peter Ustinov - based on his novel, did uncredited rewrite on script
The Green Helmet (1961), starring Bill Travers , Ed Begley , Sid James and Nancy Walters - based on his novel, wrote script
Strike Me Lucky (1961) - unfilmed script based on his novel
Damon and Pythias (1962) - uncredited contribution to script[ 3]
The Sea Lab 1963) - unfilmed script
The Diamond Smugglers (1964) - unfilmed script based on book by Ian Fleming [ 3]
Nobody Runs Forever (The High Commissioner ) (1968), starring Rod Taylor , Christopher Plummer , Lilli Palmer and Camilla Sparv - based on his novel only
Season of Doubt - unfilmed script based on his novel
You Can't See 'round Corners (1969) (adaptation of television series), starring Ken Shorter, Rowena Wallace and Carmen Duncan - based on his novel
Sidecar Racers (1975) - screenplay only[ 24]
[[Scobie Malone (film)|Scobie Malone (1975), starring Jack Thompson , Judy Morris , Shane Porteous and Jacqueline Kott - film based on his novel Helga's Web - Cleary wrote a script that was not used
High Road to China (1983), starring Bess Armstrong and Tom Selleck - based on his novel
TV Just Let Me Be (1957) - Cleary did the adaptation of his novel
Bus Stop (1961) - two episodes
You Can't See 'Round Corners (1967), starring Ken Shorter, John Armstrong, Rowena Wallace and Carmen Duncan - based on his novel only
Spearfield's Daughter (1986) (mini series), starring Christopher Plummer, Nancy Marchand , Kim Braden and Steve Railsback - based on his novel
Radio Plays
Unpublished Novels story of an AIF soldier who goes overseas (1947)[ 25]
the story of a father and son in Sydney 1927-47 with the background of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (circa 1947)[ 25]
The Mayor's Nest (1956) - about Australian politics
Notes
^ Malcolm Brown, Brisbane Times , 28 July 2010
^ The Reading Room, Vale to Jon Cleary, 27 July 2010
^ a b c d Jon Cleary Interviewed by Stephen Vagg: Oral History at National Film and Sound Archive
^ World War 2 Nominal Roll for Jon Cleary[1]
^ "Divided Award In ABC Competition" . The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) . Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 31 January 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "CLEARY HEARD NEWS IN LONDON" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 28 December 1946. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "A Man in a Queue" . Albany Advertiser (WA : 1897 - 1950) . WA: National Library of Australia. 8 June 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR RETURNS HOME" . The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) . Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 21 October 1953. p. 18. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ a b "Ned Kelly Awards" . Australian Crime Fiction Database. Retrieved 15 September 2007 .
^ "NEW FICTION" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 24 December 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "Violence Breaks Out At Coogee" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 February 1951. p. 10. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "JOY CLEARY: She's happy to let Jon be the author" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 20 September 1961. p. 9. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ a b " "I'm disenchanted with Sydney...but it's home" " . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 30 July 1969. p. 13. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ "THE RETURN OF SCOBIE MALONE" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 28 March 1973. p. 15. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ "The safe house" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1975. p. 124. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ "a sound of LIGHTNING" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 16 June 1976. p. 86. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ "VORTEX" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 19 October 1977. p. 183. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ " "T H E SYDNEY MORNING HERALD" SHORT STORY" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 18 July 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ " "THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD" SHORT STORY" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 August 1945. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "LATE DATE" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 2 April 1946. p. 4 Supplement: The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "The Stranger" . The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) . NSW: National Library of Australia. 4 June 1946. p. 7 Supplement: The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ "See you [?] on the bus" . The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) . Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 7 September 1946. p. 1 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 27 February 2012 .
^ This story was serialised in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1954 on Feb 13 , Feb 15 , Feb 16 , Feb 17 , Feb 18 , Feb19 , Feb 20 Pt 1 , Feb 20 Pt 2 , Feb 22 , Feb 23 , Feb 25 , Feb 26
^ "STUNTMAN ON THE BIKE TRACKS" . The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) . 1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia. 26 June 1974. p. 49. Retrieved 28 February 2012 .((cite news ))
: CS1 maint: location (link )
^ a b "Two Books Due From Jon Cleary" . The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) . Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 27 December 1947. p. 9. Retrieved 6 March 2012 .
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