Beat Not the Bones
Encyclopedia
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 arrives in New Guinea
from Australia, determined to find out what really happened to her husband, the Chief Anthropologist in the colonial administration. His death has been ascribed to suicide but she has reason to believe it was murder.
The novel was praised for its build up of suspense and for its novel setting.
The novel was reissued in 1992 by Wakefield Press
as part of a series reviving Australian crime classics, with an afterword by the editors. They make two further claims for the book. Firstly, it is one of very few historical descriptions of New Guinea, in this case in the immediate post war period. Secondly, they describe it as an ‘’early, a-typical example of an anti-colonial novel’’, and point out its resemblance to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
.
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
novel (and psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
) by Charlotte Jay
Charlotte Jay
Charlotte Jay was the pseudonym adopted by Australian mystery writer and novelist, Geraldine Halls . One of the best and most singular authors of the suspense era , she wrote only nine crime books, but their unorthodoxy secured her a high place in Mystery Hall of Fame.Jay was Hall's maiden name and...
(pseudonym of Geraldine Halls) which won the inaugural Edgar award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for best novel .
The novel follows the actions of a sheltered young women who arrives in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
from Australia, determined to find out what really happened to her husband, the Chief Anthropologist in the colonial administration. His death has been ascribed to suicide but she has reason to believe it was murder.
The novel was praised for its build up of suspense and for its novel setting.
The novel was reissued in 1992 by Wakefield Press
Wakefield Press
Wakefield Press is an independent book publishing company in Australia, based in the Adelaide suburb of Kent Town, South Australia. They publish an eclectic list diverse in subject, tone and point, with strong suits in true stories, gastronomy, history, literature and gift books.-History:Wakefield...
as part of a series reviving Australian crime classics, with an afterword by the editors. They make two further claims for the book. Firstly, it is one of very few historical descriptions of New Guinea, in this case in the immediate post war period. Secondly, they describe it as an ‘’early, a-typical example of an anti-colonial novel’’, and point out its resemblance to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
.