 First edition | |
| Author | Jon Cleary |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
| Publisher | Wener Laurie |
| Publication date | 1950 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
Just Let Me Be is a 1950 novel from Australian author Jon Cleary. It was his third published full-length novel.
Premise
Joe Brennan, an ex-serviceman, returns home to Coogee after World War II. He gets a job as a milkman and intends to make enough money to marry his girlfriend Connie.
He accidentally kills a man while defending local gangster Bill Pepper and is persuaded to hide the body.
Reception
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "The details are exact. The dialogue, slangy but not self-conscious, is convincing. On the other hand there are a number of characters who never emerge as more than routine and conventional figures."
Awards
The novel won the 1950 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal.
Republication
The novel was later republished in 1990 under the title You, the Jury.
Knife in the Family 1957 TV Version
The novel was adapted for British TV in 1957 under the title Knife in the Family.
It was the first acting job in England for Australian actor Rodney Howe who arrived in England seven months previously.
The Liverpool Echo said "there was nothing to hold the interest of even the most tolerant viewer."
References
- "BOOK REVIEWS---". The News. Adelaide. 14 July 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Younger novelists merit more attention". The Argus. Melbourne. 18 November 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Violence Breaks Out At Coogee". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 February 1951. p. 10. Retrieved 6 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Violence Breaks Out At Coogee". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 295. New South Wales, Australia. 3 February 1951. p. 10. Retrieved 11 August 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature p129
- "Boom under way in crime writing". The Canberra Times. 25 March 1990. p. 26. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- "TV Guide". Evening Standard. 11 September 1957. p. 6.
- "This time his packet will be safe". Nottingham Evening News. 11 September 1957. p. 8.
- "Norman Cook's television news". Liverpool Echo. 12 September 1957. p. 10.
External links
- Serialisation of novel in The Australian Women's Weekly 26 May 1954: 65 Supplement Accessed 6 March 2012
- Just Let Me Be at AustLit (subscription required)
- You, the Jury at AustLit (subscription required)
- Knife in the Family at IMDb