Careful, He Might Hear You

Sumner Locke Elliott (1917-1991) was an Australian-born novelist and playwright, orphaned shortly after birth when his mother, writer Helena Sumner Locke, died, and raised by his aunts in Sydney amid a custody battle that inspired his work. He began his career as an actor and playwright, achieving success with plays like Rusty Bugles before moving to the United States in 1948, where he became a prominent television scriptwriter during the golden age of live drama and later published acclaimed novels including Careful, He Might Hear You, winner of the 1963 Miles Franklin Award, which was adapted into a film.