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Continuing a little on my theme of those who came before, there are some little heard of (and darn hard to find the work of) pioneering female Australian crime writers who deserve to be mentioned.

Before Katherine Howell, P D Martin, Leigh Redhead, Tara Moss, Sydney Bauer, Kathryn Fox, Lindy Cameron, Kerry Greenwood, Leah Giarratano and all the current crop of fantastic female writers (the only reason I don't list each and every one of them is because the list is huge!), there were a number of important authors who played a major part in the starting of both genre fiction, and, more widely, an Australian writing tradition.  To mention a few - in (sometimes approximate) date of birth order:

Ellen Davitt will be well known to members of Sisters in Crime Australia, as they have an annual crime writing prize for women named in her honour, and in 1993, they placed a plaque on her grave, commemorating her importance to the history of Australian crime writing.  Born in 1812 in Yorkshire England, dying of cancer in extreme poverty in 1879, Ellen and her husband - teacher Arthur Davitt emigrated to Australian in 1854.  Ellen was a renowned public lecturer and an exhibited artist and she and her husband were well-known in colonial education, although, somewhat typically, she was pilloried for having "overbearing self-esteem".  Her book Force and Fraud, the first known Australian mystery novel was preprinted in 1993.  (On a purely personal note I've finally managed to get my hands on a copy of that book and will be reading it toots sweet).

Mary Fortune was born around 1833 in Canada.  She migrated to the Australian goldfields in 1855 and three years later married policeman Percy Brett.  She was one of the earliest women to write detective fiction, she wrote from the viewpoint of the detective.  (Mind you - as her marriage to Brett seems likely to have been bigamous maybe she had some sympathy with the criminal viewpoint <VBEG>).  She wrote over 500 detective stories over 40 years mostly featuring a Detective Mark Sinclair. They were published in Australian Journal, where she was using the psuedonyms "Waif Wander" and "W.W.".  She also had the first known collection of fictional detective stories written by a woman published in 1871 - The Detective's Album.  An alcoholic, she died at an unknown date and in an unknown location.  For more on Mary please see:

• http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10167b.htm
• http://lsussex.customer.netspace.net.au/womanofmystery.htm

Bibliography

• The Detective's Album 1871
• Courtesy of Gaslight: Traces of Crime Australian Journal (1865) http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/trcecrim.htm
• My Lodger (1870) http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/mylodger.htm (as "Waif Wander")
• The White Maniac: A Doctor's Tale (1912) (as "Waif Wander")

 
Margot Neville is the sister combination of Anne Neville Goyder Joske (1887 - 1966) and Margot Goyder (1907 - 1975).  They wrote novels, plays and screenplays under that pseudonym starting in 1923, but their first detective novel Murder in Rockwater was published in 1944, the last Head on the Sill was published in 1966.  They wrote over 20 crime novels in all, set in Sydney, the books were police procedurals featuring two detectives - Grogan and Manning.

Jean Spender was born in 1901, she died in 1970.  A diplomat's wife who turned to writing during her husband's postings, she wrote 6 novels between 1933 and 1960, two of which are set in Australia.

Pat Flower was born in 1914 in Kent, she emigrated to Australia at the age of 14.  She worked for the New Theatre League, as a copywriter and wrote for tv, radio and films.  Publishing 15 crime novels between 1958 and 1976, many of them had flower themes in the names (mostly pretty awful puns titles).  Her early novels featuring Inspector Swinton have been compared to Maigret in style but her later books were psycho-thrillers, considered by many to be the best produced in Australia.  Sadly, she committed suicide in 1977.  (Mt TBR has Vanishing Point from 1975, Crisscross and Shadow Show from 1976 lurking on it).

Charlotte Jay is actually a pseudonym for Geraldine Halls.  She was born in Adelaide in 1919 and she died in 1996.  Working in the Court of Papua New Guinea gave her the background for her second novel Beat Not the Bones in 1952, which went on to win the first Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers' of America.  

June Wright was born in 1919, and she wrote 6 detective novels between 1948 and 1966, with Melbourne settings and female detectives.  She got her start when she entered a novel competition run by London publishing house Hutchinson.  She won with Murder in the Telephone Exchange and Hutchinson went on to publish three of her novels.  Reservation for Murder in 1966 introduced a detective-nun, Mother Paul.  (Another one that I've got to get to - Faculty of Murder is on my Mt TBR).

Patricia Carlon was born in 1927 in Wagga Wagga, and she died in 2002.  An author of 15 crime novels written between 1961-1970, none of the books were originally published in Australia due (according to the author) to the locals only wanting police procedurals, and Patricia's books were more thrillers and/or psychological thrillers.

In the early days of the hard-boiled / pulp industry here Audrey Armitage and Muriel Watkins wrote under the pseudonym K.T. McCall, but I've never been able to find out a lot about them personally.   It seems they were the only female pulp novelists working in the heyday between 1939 and 1959.  "She was blonde, beautiful and brainy. And K.T. McCall was one of the world's highest paid female crime writers", or so said the blurb on the book's back cover. Almost 50 years later Audrey Armitage still laughed when she recalls her time as one of the country's most prolific and popular authors. "I think I was the only woman so it wasn't hard to be the highest paid," she says.

Many of the books that these authors wrote have been republished (although nowhere near all of them).  I've always found ABEBooks to be a great resource for tracking them down, particularly if it's too hot to be trolling around second hand bookshops (like it is here today).

Next Wednesday's waffles will discuss something slightly more current, before we go back and have a look at the boys from the start.

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On 4_Mystery_Addicts this week there has been a fascinating discussion about Unreliable Narrators, and I've wanted to expand this out to consider local books.

It's a term that was discussed in some depth by the group a while ago (from memory a group member did a PhD on the subject), so it's something that might need to be defined for others.  Basically what we're talking about is the point of view from which the story is being told (the Narrator) when isn't necessarily playing straight with the reader (the Unreliable). 

A narrator can be seen as unreliable for a few reasons, and most of them are considerably more subtle than just an author not playing fair.  An unreliable narrator could be the relating of clues or observations which is edited by the author so that important points aren't discernible to the reader.  Mind you, that's probably more in the unreliable author than narrator stakes but I digress. 

Some of the good uses of an unreliable narrator can be a morally ambiguous protagonist - somebody who is revising the truth to suit their own purposes or view of the world.  Another excellent use is simply the variance in memory - where events change with the passage of time, or even where the narrator is seeing things from a different perspective than perhaps you would normally expect.  Either way the author must play fairish with the reader and allow the reader to understand how the narrator is working / seeing things.

Anyway - the discussion got me thinking about unreliable narrators in Australian and New Zealand crime fiction.  Mostly probably because the book that triggered in my mind was Ghostlines by Nick Gadd.  The ultimate unreliable narrator, Trudeau is somebody who is working in a different form of reality.  But Gadd plays 100% fair with the reader as there are hints all the way through about the truth of the situation - the reader can get a pretty good idea that things are not quite as they seem.  Ultimately it made for a ripper of a debut book.

Another book that has a slight dodgy narrator is Paul Cleave's first The Cleaner.  Now it's not an immediate conclusion you could draw - there is something profoundly centred and truthful about his central narrator, but he's ultimately partially unreliable in that he's convincing others around him of something that isn't the truth, and for a little while a reader can be excused for wondering which reality is the real reality.  (Or at least that's how it recalls to me).  Robert Gott has also written a deliciously unreliable narrator in his books - of course the joke in them is that everybody but William Power knows he's totally unreliable.  But he is still seeing things from a rather particular (and somewhat peculiar) point of view - the good thing about those books is that the rest of us know.

But other than those examples, I can't think of a lot of other unreliable narrators in Australian Crime fiction (now that I've written that there will be dozens and I'll be loudly called a complete moron for forgetting.... ) 

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The problem with the blogosphere is that anybody can be an expert. 

All it takes is time - time to post constantly, time to self promote, time to comment anywhere and everywhere - time to "get the name out there". 

Australian Crime fiction is an older beast than the blogosphere though, and there have been, over many many years, a number of heroes of promotion, support and sheer graft that have tried to carry the message to readers here and all over (right back to when that was truly hard work - before blogs and email signatures  )

Being one of the Johnny Come Latelys, I've always been accutely aware of a need to acknowledge those that came before.  After all AustCrime is nothing if not just a fan site - our aims are not to "flog ourselves" but to try to impart an enthusiasm for the local product.  As we were lucky enough to have previously been inspired.

So in this first Wednesday Waffle, let's look at some of the great promoters and supporters that have gone before.

Fergus Hume - okay so Fergus was the original BSP merchant, being a failed playwrite, he purposely wrote a crime novel as that's what was selling, which he then had to self-publish (and we all know what commentators think of vanity press!)  But when Fergus published The Mystery of the Hansom Cab in 1886, there was no Australian Crime fiction industry.

Even in more recent times, a genre industry has struggled to get moving (although you wouldn't know it these days) so The Crime Writers Association of Australia was set up in the mid 1990's to promote and encourage Australian crimewriting, and it is to them that I must tip a personal hat - in particular Stuart Coupe and Julie Ogden's Mean Streets set me on my current path.

The Ned Kelly Awards from the CWAA have been around forever (well since the 1990's anyway) and all Australian crime fiction fans owe a great debt of gratitude to Peter Lawrance for what seems to almost be a single-handed effort every year. 

A hat tip to Kill City is also required, a fantastic bookshop for crime fiction fans in Melbourne, but long long long before it there was Murder Ink - out in Auburn - that shop was a mecca for me that nearly sent me bankrupt.  I have no idea what the name of the owner was (or at least I assume he was the owner), but he was a quiet unassuming man who always had a kind word for the books that I accumulated from his shop.

The Melbourne chapter of Sisters in Crime is a fantastic, active, supportive and friendly group.  Carmel Shute, Sue Turnbull and her co-convenors including Lindy Cameron are tireless in their efforts to support local authors and "push the product".  Plus there monthly gatherings are the hugest fun!

Special mention must be made of a few commentators who have been working away at talking about the genre for years - Lucy Sussex, Sue Turnbull and more recently Graeme Blundell have done more for high profile, general public discussion of Australian crime fiction than most commentators (and again - personal hat tip, if Sue Turnbull recommends a book - then I'm off to the bookstore toots sweet!).

And online - in the early days, Damien from CrimeDownUnder opened up the huge world of Australian Crime Fiction to the rest of the world when he started his site - I hope he's back soon as he seems to have gone quiet lately.  Also Perry - from my favourite book blog, Matilda.  Even though he has a much wider focus than just Crime Fiction, Perry is the most widely read and erudite commentator in Australia that I love to follow on a daily basis.

There are other people who have been doing this for years and years who I have probably forgotten to mention (probably because they don't do much BSP), but their influence over the years when they have mentioned books, made recommendations, discussed something that just happened to click has been much more profound because the recommendation stays with me - not the recommender.  Most of that has obviously been done for the sheer joy of the act of reading.  A fantastic effort by anybody's estimation.

And the one thing that all of these people have in common - and the baton which I hope AustCrime has picked up and continues to run with - is it's all about the books.  Sometimes the authors, but mostly the books.  It's the books that matter, it's the talk about the books, the noting of comings and goings of the books, the promotion of the local books that matters.  Hopefully at the end of this website's run - the memory of the books will remain the strongest.

Next Waffle will start to pick some authors to talk about in more detail - what I'll probably do is pick an influential, early author and then bounce forward to somebody who is doing something interesting right now and backwards and forwards until I run out of puff (I can guarantee I won't run out of authors - the Australian scene is moving ahead in leaps and bounds).  If anybody has anyone in particular they'd like to see mentioned, drop me a line via Contact Us at the top of the site.

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Well it's summer.  It's seriously summer at the new house - it's seriously seriously seriously seriously hot.  Which you'd think would be good reading time, but I'm really having bad attacks of the guilts if I sit down in the afternoon's with a book - particularly as I'm STILL looking for missing coffee cups in boxes.

There's going to be some great books out this year - with new offerings from Garry Disher, Peter Temple and Geoff McGeachin's 3rd in his series already out and about.  Let's hope there's even more and that some of the "girls" get in on the act as well.

I'm not sure why, but there's very little chat about some of the lesser known crime writers from these parts around that I ever see, so I'm looking to start a new 2009 "tradition".  Wednesday Waffles (now who wants to take bets on when I'll forget the first one!) will be all about little-known authors who deserve a mention.  I've done this in very erractic terms in the past and I think it's time I stopped faffing about and got serious - so stand by for next Wednesday!

In the meantime I'm really enjoying Dave Franklin's English Toss on Planet Andong - it's not overtly crime, I guess I'd classify it as a bit of a rant novel, but Dave does rant better than most people I've read - and it's fun and decidedly not-PC.  I'm also nearly finished with the sublime Val McDermid's latest A Darker Domain - it's a ripper of a crime novel with very very good characters and it's keeping me awake much later than I should be given the amount of lifting and carting that's required at the new place (incidentally if you have nothing better to do with your life - http://blogs.sakienvirotech.com/dirt will keep you up to date with the slog that is "the new life").

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Top Books of 2008 is something everybody is doing at the moment. 

I find these lists very uncomfortable - it seems so unfair to distill down an entire years entertainment into a Top 10 or similar.  Besides I'm notoriously mathematically challenged so I don't do 10.  What I have done is found a number of books that are well worth another mention from last year.

Starting out with the locals:

Voodoo Doll by Leah Giarratano.  There were a number of things about this book that made it a standout.  There is the central character Jill Jackson - whose ongoing recovery from a horrific childhood incident is the most realistic portrayal I've read.  Add to that a very moving story of a disturbed "criminal", who, no matter how horrible his own crimes, engenders a real sense of sympathy in the reader.  Leah is undoubtedly writing from a deep knowledge of her subject matter, but she doesn't write "as an expert".  The books are a good story, with the understanding being demonstrated rather than lectured.

Blood Sunset by Jarad Henry.  I loved this book for a couple of reasons - the sense of place of Melbourne.  Particularly Melbourne during those long, hot, smokey bushfire days of summer.  When the pavement gets sticky and people get unbelievably ratty.  Add to that a very realistic portrayal of police procedure and police behaviour and I was a very happy reader after I finished this book.

The Build Up by Philip Gwynne.  Okay I'm got to get repetitive here and you might be starting to get a hint about some of the elements of a book that really appeal to me but sense of place again.  Darwin in the Build Up - that period just before the Wet finally arrives.  When people (again) go bats and strange things happen.  I could smell the air getting heavy, feel the place through and through.  The story was great as well, and the central character, in particular, extremely well done.

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn.  Okay, is anybody really surprised that I loved the sense of apartheid South Africa.  Perhaps not so strong a sense of Africa as a place in that there are no vistas of the land, no native animals wandering the streets of the town (as they probably don't - same as here / few of us are lucky enough to have a resident kangaroo leaning against the back fence).  But what really appealed to me about this book was the characterisations and the way that it drew a picture of apartheid society that was absolutely gloves off.

Shatter by Michael Robotham.  If it's any consolation Michael I'd be happy to find you at a dinner party I was attending, although maybe a few chairs away.  This was a profoundly disturbing book simply because of the sheer evil of the villain of the piece.  It was written in a way that made that sense of evil profoundly disturbing, without once degenerating into caricature which is often the case when an author is trying to engender a reaction in the reader.  Again, a tremendous character set as well which really helped the reader care about the outcome.  A lot.

Natural History by Neil Cross.  This was a surprise.  A big surprise which is probably not fair as the author is obviously a very accomplished writer.  The people that populated this book were particularly appealing, and it has one of those "what the" endings which just simply worked. 

Now, from over the ditch and not very far away at all:

Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave.  Mr Cleave has rapidly become one of my favourite authors.  He has an ability to astound me (and frighten me witless) which is somewhat startling for somebody who reads as many books as I do.  Slightly more lunatic maybe than earlier books, Cemetery Lake was an astounding book about a man who spirals out of control, who knows it, and doesn't seem to necessarily want to change it.  Raw and magnificently disturbing.

Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill.  I've been a fan of this series, set in Laos, since the very first book but this one, in particular, got to me.  I absolutely loved the way that Dr Siri is becoming more and more comfortable with who he is and how his life works (including the supernatural aspects which just seem so culturally accurate), but the journey of Mr Geung in this book is simply magnificent.

The Scandinavians:

The Shadow in the River by Frode Grytten.  This book appealed to me greatly for a number of reasons.  I loved the sly dry humour, I loved the portrayal of outsiders and the way a closed society can just simply leap to conclusions because it's easier.  I loved the fact that the crime wasn't the point - it was the catalyst for a story about a society that is disintegrating.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  An example of the best of the best of crime fiction.  Social commentary, some not too subtle revenge, a journey story - for more than just Lisbeth, a traditional "closed room" styling.  I confess I was a little leery because there had been so much "press" about how good this book was, but it really did live up to most of the predictions for me.

The Redbreast and /or Nemesis by Jo Nesbo.  Jo Nesbo writes a fabulous series around one of those magnificently rumpled, grumpy and problematic central police characters.  As well as that great portrayal though, there is some fantastic and intricate plot development as well as intrigue and suspense.

The Icelanders:

Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason.  Buy and read immediately author.  Need I say more?

Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardotti.  Ignore the blurb.  These are great characters - not at all morose, there is a lovely light touch of humour in a book that starts off in a very grusome manner.

The Europeans:

A Quiet Belief in Angels by R J Ellory.  This appealed probably in large part because it was different.  An unusual book that is very moving in places, undoubtedly slow paced which won't appeal to everyone, but it's worth trying to get into the swing of the book just for the emotional experience.

Die with Me by Elena Forbes.  It's always immensely satisfying to find a debut book that appeals.  Hopefully this is the beginning of an ongoing series as this was a great book.  Good cast of characters, in a very solid plot which has some quite sobering moments.

Blood from Stone by Francis Fyfield.  This book became an award winner about the time I was reading it and I could really see why - or at least it greatly appealed to me as well.  I like books where even the crime seems ambiguous and this was very much an exploration of a woman's life.

Absolution by Caro Ramsay.  Another debut that had a bit of a wow factor to it - with some very brave scenarios built into it which gave the book a very satisfying twist.  Definitely a little on the darker side, and very interesting with it.

The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel.  This has possibly been one of the best of my best books of 2008.  It snuck up on me - I had a copy but hadn't picked it up, until the author was flagged as attending MWF.  So on the morning of the festival session, it became my train book and I nearly didn't get off the train. Took me just a day or so to read it and it has stayed with me ever since.  Based on true events, but with a different timeframe and a resolution (the true crimes remains unsolved).  It is told in an unusual form with a combination of story, testimony from eye witnesses and prayers or commentary from the unidentified killer.  The intimacy that the style gives the book makes it very discomforting - you know that you are hearing the voice of the murderer somewhere but they are difficult to pick.  Fascinating and a worthwhile winner of awards.

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