Jon Cleary

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This article is about the author. For the musician, see Jon Cleary (musician).

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.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Life

Cleary was born in Erskineville, Sydney and educated at Marist Brothers College Randwick. When he was ten his father spent six months in Long Bay Gaol for stealing five pounds.

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]

[edit] Writing Career

Cleary began writing regularly in the army, selling his first story in 1940. The editor of Australian Journal sent four short stories he had written for that magazine to American agent Paul Reynolds, who became selling them to American magazines such as Cosmopolitan and The Saturday Evening Post.[5][6] and in 1945 won equal first prize in a competition for the ABC for his radio play Safe Horizon.[7]

Cleary's 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.[8] All this time he kept writing short stories and novels. The success of The Sundowners, which ultimately sold over three million copies, meant he could write full time.

Cleary lived in Italy for a year then returned home to Australia in 1953 after seven years away.[9] However he continued to live abroad for long stints, notably in Spain and London. His novels became increasingly set in countries other than Australia, with Cleary travelling extensively for the purposes of research.

"I realised at 40 I did not have the intellectual depth to be the writer I would like to be, so I determined to be as good a craftsman as I might be," Cleary later on.[10]

In the 1970s Cleary returned to Sydney to live more or less permanently, buying a house at Kirriblli, but still travelling overseas two months of the year to research. After his daughter's death from breast cancer in 1987 and his wife's subsequent ill health he travelled less.[5] Writing the Scobie Malone series of novels enabled him to tell Australian stories which appealed to an international audience, and he remained popular with readers throughout his career. His last novel was published three years before his death.

[edit] Personal Life

Cleary met his wife Joy on his boat trip to England in 1946 and married her five days after they landed. They had two daughters, one of whom died of breast cancer when she was 37. Joy developed Alzheimers Disease and went to live in a nursing home prior to her death in 2003.[11] . "I was very, very lucky," said Cleary of his marriage. "We were in love from the day we met to the day we - sorry, I mean she - died."[12]

Cleary was good friends with fellow writers Morris West and Alexander Baron.

He died on 19 July 2010, aged 92.

[edit] Awards

  • Australian Broadcasting Commission prize for radio drama in 1944
  • 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
  • Australian Crime Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.
  • 1996 – Ned Kelly Awards Lifelong Contribution to the Crime, Mystery and Detective Genres[13]
  • 2004 – Ned Kelly Awards Best Novel for Degrees of Connection[13]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Novels

  1. You Can't See 'Round Corners (1947)
  2. The Long Shadow (1949)
  3. Just Let Me Be (1950)
  4. The Sundowners (1952)
  5. The Climate of Courage (1954)
  6. Justin Bayard (1955) (aka Dust in the Sun)
  7. The Green Helmet (1957)
  8. Back of Sunset (1959)
  9. North From Thursday (1960)
  10. Strike Me Lucky (1961) - co-wrote with his wife Joy[14]
  11. The Country of Marriage (1962)
  12. Forests of the Night (1963)
  13. A Flight of Chariots (1963)
  14. The Fall of an Eagle (1964)
  15. The High Commissioner (1966) - the first Scobie Malone novel
  16. The Pulse of Danger (1966)
  17. The Long Pursuit (1967)
  18. Season of Doubt (1968)
  19. Remember Jack Hoxie (1969)
  20. Helga's Web (1970) - Scobie Malone novel
  21. Mask of the Andes (1971) (aka The Liberators)
  22. Man's Estate (1972) (aka The Ninth Marquess)
  23. Ransom (1973) - Scobie Malone novel
  24. The Safe House (1975)
  25. Peter's Pence (1975)
  26. A Sound of Lightning (1976)
  27. High Road to China (1977)
  28. Vortex (1978)
  29. The Beaufort Sisters (1979)
  30. A Very Private War (1980)
  31. The Faraway Drums (1981)
  32. The Golden Sabre (1981)
  33. Spearfield's Daughter (1982)
  34. The Phoenix Tree (1984)
  35. The City of Fading Light (1985)
  36. Dragons at the Party (1987) - Scobie Malone novel
  37. Now and Then, Amen (1988) - Scobie Malone novel
  38. Babylon South (1989) - Scobie Malone novel
  39. You, the Jury (1990) (reprint of 1950 Just Let Me Be)
  40. Murder Song (1990) - Scobie Malone novel
  41. Pride's Harvest (1991) - Scobie Malone novel
  42. Dark Summer (1992) - Scobie Malone novel
  43. Bleak Spring (1993) - Scobie Malone novel
  44. Autumn Maze (1994) - Scobie Malone novel
  45. Winter Chill (1995) - Scobie Malone novel
  46. Endpeace (1996) - Scobie Malone novel
  47. A Different Turf (1997) - Scobie Malone novel
  48. Five Ring Circus (1998) - Scobie Malone novel
  49. Dilemma (1999) - Scobie Malone novel
  50. Bear Pit (2000) - Scobie Malone novel
  51. Yesterday's Shadow (2001) - Scobie Malone novel
  52. The Easy Sin (2002) - Scobie Malone novel
  53. Degrees of Connection (2003) - Scobie Malone novel
  54. Miss Ambar Regrets (2004)
  55. Morning's Gone (2006)
  56. Four-Cornered Circle (2007)

[edit] Short stories

  • The Way Out (1942)[15]
  • Remember? (1943)[16]
  • A Long Time Dying (1943)[17]
  • Clouds in the Sun (1943)[18]
  • Idyll in Havoc (1943)[19]
  • Safe Horizon (1943)[20]
  • Hullo, Joe (1944)[21]
  • I'd Like to Be There at the Finish (1944)[22]
  • Who Pays?(1944)[23]
  • Death Comes Slowly (1944)[24]
  • Title Bout (1945)[25]
  • Brandy Martin and My Old Man (1945)[26]
  • My Heart is Dead and Gone[27]
  • Some Day I May Come Home Again (1945)[28]
  • These Small Glories (1946) - a collection of his short stories
  • Late Date (1946)[29]
  • The Stranger (1946)[30]
  • See You on the Bus (1946)[31]
  • Sundowner on the Skylin (1946)[32]
  • A Time Together[33]
  • Pillar of Salt (1951)[34]
  • The Outsider (1951)[35]
  • No Taste for Trouble (1954)[36]
  • Man from Carolina (1958)
  • Friendly Enemies (1961)[37]
  • Pillar of Salt and other Stories (1963) - collection

[edit] Films

[edit] 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

[edit] Radio Plays

  • Safe Horizon (1944)

[edit] Plays

[edit] Unpublished Novels

  • story of an AIF soldier who goes overseas (1947)[40]
  • the story of a father and son in Sydney 1927-47 with the background of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (circa 1947)[40]
  • The Mayor's Nest (1956) - about Australian politics
  • The Vacant Mine (1979) - uncompleted novel

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Malcolm Brown, Brisbane Times, 28 July 2010
  2. ^ The Reading Room, Vale to Jon Cleary, 27 July 2010
  3. ^ a b c d Jon Cleary Interviewed by Stephen Vagg: Oral History at National Film and Sound Archive
  4. ^ World War 2 Nominal Roll for Jon Cleary[1]
  5. ^ a b Susan Geason, 'Jon Cleary: A Fortunate Life', The Sydney Morning Herald, December 06, 1992 p 111
  6. ^ "CLEARY HEARD NEWS IN LONDON.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 28 December 1946. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18008509. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  7. ^ "Divided Award In ABC Competition.". The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) (Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 31 January 1945. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26072022. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  8. ^ "A Man in a Queue.". Albany Advertiser (WA : 1897 - 1950) (WA: National Library of Australia): p. 2. 8 June 1950. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article70518890. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  9. ^ "AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR RETURNS HOME.". The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) (Perth, WA: National Library of Australia): p. 18. 21 October 1953. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52935895. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  10. ^ Murray Waldren, 'Jon Cleary: Character Builder' The Weekend Australian 1998
  11. ^ 'Jon Cleary', The Book Show - Radio National, 26 February 2006
  12. ^ Christine Cremen, 'A time for crime and for love', Sydney Morning Herald 18 October 2003
  13. ^ a b "Ned Kelly Awards". Australian Crime Fiction Database. http://www.crimedownunder.com/nedkellyawards.html. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  14. ^ "JOY CLEARY: She's happy to let Jon be the author.". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) (1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia): p. 9. 20 September 1961. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47249032. Retrieved 28 February 2012. 
  15. ^ The Bulletin vol.63 no.3268 30 September 1942 (p.4)
  16. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.933 1 December 1943 (pp.681-682)
  17. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.930 1 September 1943 (pp.499-501)
  18. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.928 1 July 1943 (pp.384-385)
  19. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.927 1 June 1943 (pp.331-334)
  20. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.925 1 April 1943 (pp.197-199, 206)
  21. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.935 1 February 1944 (pp.96, 101-104)
  22. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.944 1 November 1944 (pp.716-717)
  23. ^ The Australian Journal vol.79 no.940 1 July 1944 (pp.437-441)
  24. ^ Coast to Coast : Australian Stories 1943 Sydney, New South Wales : Angus and Robertson, 1944 (pp.32-42)
  25. ^ The Australian Journal vol.80 no.949 1 April 1945 (pp.249-251, 254-255)
  26. ^ ""T H E SYDNEY MORNING HERALD" SHORT STORY.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 18 July 1945. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17947510. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  27. ^ ""THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD" SHORT STORY.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 7. 8 August 1945. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17949078. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  28. ^ The Australian Journal vol.80 no.946 1 January 1945 (pp.17-21)
  29. ^ "LATE DATE.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 4 Supplement: The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine.. 2 April 1946. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17974409. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  30. ^ "The Stranger.". The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia): p. 7 Supplement: The Sydney Morning Herald Magazine.. 4 June 1946. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17979320. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  31. ^ "See you [? on the bus."]. The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia): p. 1 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. 7 September 1946. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55873083. Retrieved 27 February 2012. 
  32. ^ The Australian Journal vol.81 no.961 1 April 1946 (pp.268-271, 285-288)
  33. ^ The Australian Journal vol.83 no.986 1 May 1948 (pp.360-363)
  34. ^ Times Pictorial (1941-1955) [Dublin, Ireland] 3 November 1951: 14.
  35. ^ Blue Book Magazine vol.93 no.2 June 1951 (pp.84-89)
  36. ^ 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
  37. ^ "THE WEEKLY ROUND.". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) (1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia): p. 2. 25 October 1961. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47253109. Retrieved 10 March 2012. 
  38. ^ "STUNTMAN ON THE BIKE TRACKS.". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) (1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia): p. 49. 26 June 1974. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44800241. Retrieved 28 February 2012. 
  39. ^ ""I'm disenchanted with Sydney...but it's home".". The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982) (1933 - 1982: National Library of Australia): p. 13. 30 July 1969. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51973856. Retrieved 28 February 2012. 
  40. ^ a b "Two Books Due From Jon Cleary.". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia): p. 9. 27 December 1947. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43750009. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 

[edit] External links

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