Geraldine Halls
Geraldine Halls, born Geraldine Mary Jay in 1919 in Adelaide, Australia, was a notable author whose diverse experiences significantly shaped her literary career. She worked in the court of Papua New Guinea, which provided rich material for her writing, particularly evident in her acclaimed mystery novel, *Beat Not the Bones*, the first winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1952. Halls initially focused on suspense novels but transitioned to mainstream literature in the 1960s, publishing under her own name as well as the pseudonym Charlotte Jay. Her notable works include *The Knife Is Feminine* and *The Silk Project*, which reflect her travels around the world, particularly in exotic locales like Thailand and India, due to her husband's work with UNESCO. Additionally, Halls was deeply involved in the Japanese print art scene, becoming a dealer and amassing a significant collection of prints, which she later donated in her husband's memory. Halls passed away in 1996 in Adelaide, leaving behind a legacy of literary and artistic contributions that continue to resonate today.
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Geraldine Halls
Writer
- Born: December 17, 1919
- Birthplace: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Died: October 27, 1996
- Place of death: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Biography
Geraldine Halls was born Geraldine Mary Jay in 1919 in Adelaide, Australia. She worked in the court of Papua, New Guinea, an experience which would provide material for her future writing. Her husband, John Halls, worked with UNESCO, so the couple traveled widely and Geraldine Halls got a firsthand look at many exotic locales that she later incorporated into her novels. Initially, she concentrated on suspense novels. After the 1960’s, Halls began concentrating more on mainstream work. She wrote some of her work as Charlotte Jay.
She published her first novel, The Knife Is Feminine, in 1951. Her second novel, Beat Not the Bones, was the one for which she used the background she experienced in New Guinea. That book was the winner of the first Edgar Allan Poe Award ever given by the Mystery Writers of America, in 1952. Raymond Chandler was the next year’s winner.
She followed that success with The Fugitive Eye (1953), The Yellow Turban (1955), The Brink of Silence (1956), The Stepfather (1958), Arms for Adonis (1960), A Hank of Hair (1964), The Silk Project (1965), The Cats of Benares (1967), The Voice of the Crab (1974), The Last Summer of the Men Shortage (1976), The Felling of Thawle (1979) and This Is My Friend’s Chair (1995), published shortly before her death. Several of her mystery novels have been translated into French and German. The Silk Project and The Cats of Benares are set in Thailand and India, two of the locales with which Halls gained familiarity during her travels.
Halls was also recognized in the field of Japanese print collections. She was a Japanese print dealer and, during the 1970’s and 1980’s, amassed a collection including prints by Japanese masters of the technique. They included Hokusai’s masterpiece Fugi in Fair Weather, acquired in 1976. In the mid-1980’s, Halls donated her large collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century prints in memory of her late husband. She died in her native Adelaide in 1996.