The Bachelors of Broken Hill (1950) is a novel by Australian writer Arthur Upfield. It is the fourteenth of the author's novels to feature his recurring character Detective Inspector Napoleon 'Bony' Bonaparte. It was originally published in USA by Doubleday in 1950 under their Crime Club imprint.[1]

Abstract

Bony is called in to investigated a spate of poisonings (of a draper and metallurgist), the attempted poisoning of a bookmaker and the stabbing of a office-stenographer of the Broken Hill police.

Location

The action of the novel is set in and around Broken Hill, New South Wales.

Publishing history

Following the book's initial publication by Doubleday in 1950[1] it was subsequently published as follows:

  • Invincible Press, Australia, 1953[2]
  • Heinemann, UK and Australia, 1958[3]
  • Pan Books, UK, 1966[2]
  • Arkon Paperbacks, Australia, 1983[4]
  • Eden Paperbacks, Australia, 1987[2]
  • Hinkler Book Distributors, Australia, 1994[2]
  • Scribner Paperback Fiction, USA, 1998[5]
  • ETT Imprint, Australia, 2019[2]

and subsequent paperback, ebook and audio book editions.

The novel was also translated into German and Italian in 1957, Spanish in 1958, Slovakian in 1976 and French in 2002.[2]

Critical reception

A reviewer in The Bulletin found the crime was "melodramatically solved", noting that "what would be a first-rate mystery for another author is a little disappointing in Upfield."[6]

In The Tribune (Sydney) a reviewer called it a "classical murder mystery" that "should be in every collection of Australiana."[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur Upfield (Doubleday 1950)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Austlit – The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur Upfield". Austlit. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  3. ^ "The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur Upfield (Heinemann 1958)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  4. ^ "The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur Upfield (Akron 1983)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  5. ^ "The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur Upfield (Scribner Paperback Fiction 1998)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  6. ^ ""Reviewed briefly"". The Bulletin, 9 July 1958, p59. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  7. ^ ""Whodunit?"". tribune, 21 January 1970, p8. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
Allikas: Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bachelors_of_Broken_Hill
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