Just Let Me Be is a 1950 novel from Australian author Jon Cleary. It was his third published full-length novel.[1][2]

Just Let Me Be
First edition
AuthorJon Cleary
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenreCrime fiction
PublisherWener Laurie
Publication date
1950
Media typePrint

Premise edit

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.[3]

Awards edit

The novel won the 1950 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal.[4]

Republication edit

The novel was later republished in 1990 under the title You, the Jury.[5]

Knife in the Family 1957 TV Version edit

The novel was adapted for British TV in 1957 under the title Knife in the Family.[6]

It was the first acting job in England for Australian actor Rodney Howe who arrived in England seven months previously.[7]

The Liverpool Echo said "there was nothing to hold the interest of even the most tolerant viewer."[8]

References edit

  1. ^ "BOOK REVIEWS---". The News. Adelaide. 14 July 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Younger novelists merit more attention". The Argus. Melbourne. 18 November 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Violence Breaks Out At Coogee". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 February 1951. p. 10. Retrieved 6 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ The Cambridge Companion to Australian Literature p129
  5. ^ "Boom under way in crime writing". The Canberra Times. 25 March 1990. p. 26. Retrieved 18 October 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "TV Guide". Evening Standard. 11 September 1957. p. 6.
  7. ^ "This time his packet will be safe". Nottingham Evening News. 11 September 1957. p. 8.
  8. ^ "Norman Cook's television news". Liverpool Echo. 12 September 1957. p. 10.

External links edit