The Green Helmet (novel)

1957 novel by Australian author Jon Cleary

The Green Helmet Author| Jon Cleary

|

Language| English
Genre| Novel
Publisher| Collins

Publication date

| 1957
Publication place| Australia
Media type| Print
Pages| 266 pp.
Preceded by| Justin Bayard
Followed by| Back of Sunset

The Green Helmet is a 1957 novel by the Australian author Jon Cleary.[1] It was the author's eighth novel.

## Synopsis

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Brothers Ham and Taz Rafferty are professional race car drivers whose father was killed during the Mille Miglia, a 1000-mile endurance race through Italy. The boys' mother extracts a promise from Taz that he will allow Ham to drive while he bides his time. But tension builds between the two when Ham refuses to retire after a near-disaster. An American tire manufacturer contracts Ham to race on his tires and a romance ensues between Ham and the American's daughter.

## Background

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Cleary had written a book about Australian politics, The Mayor's Nest, but his English publisher was worried it would not appeal to an international audience, and suggested a book on motor racing.[2]

Cleary and his wife had lived in Italy for a year and became familiar with the motor races there such as the Mille Miglia. He had not written in six months, so moved to Valencia, a small town in Spain where he rented a villa. He wrote the novel in twenty days at a chapter a day.[3][4]

## Publishing history

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After its initial publication in UK by Collins in 1957,[1] it was reprinted as follows:

* 1958, USA, William Morrow and Company[5]
* 1963, Australia, Howitz[6]
* 1970, UK, Collins[6]
* 1988, UK, Fontana[6]

## Critical reception

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The book became a best seller on its publication in 1957. Cleary says Reader's Digest paid an advance of 20,000 pounds for their editions.[2]

Kirkus Reviews was not impressed with the work: "Superb suspense in the racing aspects; the romance is contrived and two-dimensional."[7]

A reviewer in The Bulletin found a lot more to like about the author's "swift and clear presentations of scenes in high-class English pubs, New York pent-house apartments, American factories, English country places! Writers with more to say, or less, might well admire the hard-gained discipline of his writing."[8]

## Film adaptation

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The novel was adapted as a film of the same name in 1961, directed by Michael Forlong with a screenplay by Jon Cleary.[9]

## See also

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* 1957 in Australian literature

## References

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1. ^ a b "The Green Helmet by Jon Cleary (Collins, 1957)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
2. ^ a b Jon Cleary Interviewed by Stephen Vagg: Oral History at National Film and Sound Archive
3. ^ MYSTERY MAN; JON CLEARY / WRITER Features: [Late Edition] Stephens, Tony. Sydney Morning Herald; 15 Nov 1997: 3.
4. ^ Hetherington, John (31 December 1960). "Jon Cleary - Worth a Couple of Brigades to Authors". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 10.
5. ^ "The Green Helmet by Jon Cleary (William Morrow, 1958)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
6. ^ a b c "Austlit — The Green Helmet by Jon Cleary". Austlit. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
7. ^ ""The Green Helmet by Jon Cleary"". Kirkus Reviews, 1 January 1957. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
8. ^ ""Four Australian novels"". The Bulletin, 29 January 1958, p58. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
9. ^ "The Green Helmet (1961)". IDMB. Retrieved 3 June 2024.

* v
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Works by Jon Cleary

Novels|

| 1940s|

* These Small Glories (1946) (short stories)
* You Can't See 'Round Corners (1947)
* The Long Shadow (1949)

|

1950s|

* Just Let Me Be (1950)
* The Sundowners (1952)
* The Climate of Courage (1954)
* Justin Bayard (1955)
* The Green Helmet (1957)
* Back of Sunset (1959)
* Strike Me Lucky (1959)

1960s|

* North from Thursday (1960)
* The Country of Marriage (1962)
* Forests of the Night (1963)
* A Flight of Chariots (1963)
* The Fall of an Eagle (1965)
* The High Commissioner (1966)
* The Pulse of Danger (1966)
* The Long Pursuit (1967)
* Season of Doubt (1968)
* Remember Jack Hoxie (1969)

1970s|

* Helga's Web (1970)
* Mask of the Andes (1971)
* Man's Estate (1972)
* Ransom (1973)
* Peter's Pence (1974)
* The Safe House (1975)
* A Sound of Lightning (1976)
* High Road to China (1977)
* Vortex (1978)
* The Beaufort Sisters (1979)

1980s|

* A Very Private War (1980)
* The Faraway Drums (1981)
* The Golden Sabre (1981)
* Spearfield's Daughter (1982)
* The Phoenix Tree (1984)
* The City of Fading Light (1985)
* Dragons at the Party (1987)
* Now and Then, Amen (1988)
* Babylon South (1989)

1990s|

* You, the Jury (1990) (reprint of 1950 Just Let Me Be)
* Murder Song (1990)
* Pride's Harvest (1991)
* Dark Summer (1992)
* Bleak Spring (1993)
* Autumn Maze (1994)
* Winter Chill (1995)
* Endpeace (1996)
* A Different Turf (1997)
* Five Ring Circus (1998)
* Dilemma (1999)

2000s|

* Bear Pit (2000)
* Yesterday's Shadow (2001)
* The Easy Sin (2002)
* Degrees of Connection (2003)
* Miss Ambar Regrets (2004)
* Morning's Gone (2006)
* Four-Cornered Circle (2007)

Films|

* Dust in the Sun (1958)
* The Siege of Pinchgut (1959)
* The Sundowners (1960)
* The Green Helmet (1961)
* Damon and Pythias (1962)
* The Diamond Smugglers (1964)
* Nobody Runs Forever (The High Commissioner) (1968)
* You Can't See 'round Corners (1969)
* Sidecar Racers (1975)
* Scobie Malone (1975)
* High Road to China (1983)

TV|

* Knife in the Family (1957)
* Bus Stop (1961) (2 eps)
* You Can't See 'Round Corners (1967)
* Spearfield's Daughter (1986)

Radio|

* Safe Horizon (1945)
* The Sundowners (1953)
* The Climate of Courage (1956)

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