Peter's Pence

Jon Stephen Cleary (1917-2010) was a prolific Australian novelist best known for The Sundowners (1951), which sold three million copies and was adapted into a film, and the Scobie Malone detective series starting with The High Commissioner (1966). His major achievements include the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1975 for Peter's Pence, the Crouch Medal in 1950 for Just Let Me Be, and lifetime contribution awards like the Ned Kelly Award in 1995 and 1996.