Geraldine Halls (17 December 1919 – 27 October 1996) was an Australian

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

writer and novelist who sometimes wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Charlotte Jay, Jay being Halls's maiden name. Halls' book ''

Beat Not the Bones ''Beat Not the Bones'' is a 1952 suspense novel (and psychological thriller) by Charlotte Jay (pseudonym of Geraldine Halls) which won the inaugural Edgar award for best novel. The novel follows the actions of a sheltered young women who ar ...

'' won the then newly created

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

of the Mystery Writers' Association of America for Best Novel of the Year in 1954. The crime novel, ''The Fugitive Eye'' was adapted for television for a drama series in 1961. The episode starred

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...

and the series was hosted by

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

Life

Halls was born as Geraldine Mary Jay in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

on the 17 December 1919. She attended Girton School (now Pembroke School) and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, and worked as a shorthand typist in Australia and England, and as a court stenographer in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, 1942–1950.Adelaide (1988) p. 84 She married Albert Halls, an Oriental specialist, who worked with the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

(UNESCO). Albert Halls dealt in Oriental antiques in England and Australia. Marrying Albert enabled Halls to travel to many exotic locations in which she later included in her books. Only her first novel, ''The Knife is Feminine'', is set in Australia. The other books are set in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and the

Trobriand Islands The Trobriand Islands are a archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea. They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province. Most of the population of 60,000 (2016) indigenous inhabitants live on the m ...

. After a long career in writing, Halls died on 27 October 1996, in her home town of Adelaide.

Works

Charlotte Jay novels

*''

The Knife Is Feminine ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1951) *''

'' (1952) *'' The Fugitive Eye'' (1953) *'' The Yellow Turban'' (1955) *'' The Man Who Walked Away'' (US Title: '' The Stepfather'') (1958) *'' Arms for Adonis'' (1960) *'' A Hank of Hair'' (1964)

Geraldine Mary Jay novels

*'' The Feast of the Dead'' (US Title: '' The Brink of Silence'') (1956)

Geraldine Halls novels

*''The Cats of Benares'' (1967) *''Cobra Kite'' (1971) *'' The Voice of the Crab'' (1974) *''The Last Summer of the Men Shortage'' (1977) *''The Felling of Thawle : a novel'' (1979) *''Talking to strangers : a novel'' (1982) *''This is My Friend's Chair'' (1995)

References

Bibliography

*Adelaide, Debra (1988) ''Australian women writers: a bibliographic guide'', London, Pandora

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Charlotte 1919 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian women writers Australian crime writers Australian women novelists Writers from Adelaide Edgar Award winners Australian women mystery writers Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers