Charlotte Jay
Geraldine Halls (17 December 1919 – 27 October 1996) was an Australian mystery writer and novelist who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Charlotte Jay, Jay being Halls's maiden name. Halls' book Beat Not the Bones won the then newly created Edgar Allan Poe Award 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.
Also recorded as Geraldine Halls · Geraldine Mary Jay
Charlotte Jay
- Name
- Charlotte Jay
- Birth Name
- Geraldine Mary Jay
- Born
- 17 December 1919
- Birthplace
- Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Died
- 27 October 1996
- Occupation
- Writer
- Nationality
- Australia
- Education
- University of Adelaide
- Honours
- Edgar Awards
- Languages
- Australian English · English
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Documentary summary
Geraldine Halls (17 December 1919 – 27 October 1996) was an Australian mystery writer and novelist who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Charlotte Jay, Jay being Halls's maiden name. Halls' book Beat Not the Bones won the then newly created Edgar Allan Poe Award 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.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
The episode starred Charlton Heston and the series was hosted by Fred Astaire.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Charlotte Jay • Birth Name — Geraldine Mary Jay • Born — 17 December 1919 • Birthplace — Adelaide, South Australia, Australia • Died — 27 October 1996 • Place of death — Adelaide, South Australia, Australia • Occupation — Writer • Notable Work — Beat Not the Bones
Life
Life
Halls was born as Geraldine Mary Jay in Adelaide, South Australia on the 17 December 1919. She attended Girton School (now Pembroke School) and the University of Adelaide, and worked as a shorthand typist in Australia and England, and as a court stenographer in New Guinea, 1942–1950. She married Albert Halls, an Oriental specialist, who worked with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (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, Japan, Thailand, England, Lebanon, India, Papua New Guinea and the Trobriand Islands. After a long career in writing, Halls died on 27 October 1996, in her home town of Adelaide.
Charlotte Jay novels
Charlotte Jay novels
• The Knife Is Feminine (1951) • Beat Not the Bones (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
Geraldine Mary Jay novels
• The Feast of the Dead (US Title: The Brink of Silence) (1956)
Geraldine Halls novels
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)
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.IMDb. Alcoa Premier: The Fugitive Eye (1961).
- 2.Peter, Moss. A Hank of Hair: Afterword. Wakefield Press. 114–120. 1992. 1-86254-289-9.
- 3.Adelaide (1988) p. 84
- 4.Costessi, Jane. Geraldine Mary Halls (1919–1996). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Adelaide, Debra (1988) Australian women writers: a bibliographic guide, London, Pandora
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,960 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Charlotte Mary YongeAuthor
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