The Devil's Steps
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Author | Arthur Upfield |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Detective Inspector Napoleon 'Bony' Bonaparte |
Genre | Fiction |
Publisher | Doubleday Books |
Publication date | 1946 |
Publication place | Australia |
Media type | |
Pages | 285 pp |
Preceded by | Death of a Swagman |
Followed by | An Author Bites the Dust |
The Devil's Steps (1946) is a novel by Australian writer Arthur Upfield. It is the tenth of the author's novels to feature his recurring character Detective Inspector Napoleon 'Bony' Bonaparte. It was originally published in USA by Doubleday Books in 1946.[1]
It was also serialised in The Argus from 16 November to 24 December 1946 in two instalments each week, one in the Saturday supplement, the Argus Week-End Magazine, the next in the Wednesday supplement, the Argus Woman's Magazine.[1]
Abstract
At Wideview Chalet, a guest house in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, the body of Grumman is found in the gutter outside the building. Detective-Inspector Bonaparte has been seconded to the Army for special intelligence work and had been watching Grumman, who is, in reality, a member of the German General Staff. When the local constable is shot dead by a visitor to Grumman, Bony is asked to help the civil police solve the murders.
Location
Set in a fictional mountain resort called Mount Chalmers, similar to the Dandenong Ranges on the eastern edge of Melbourne, Victoria (most probably in the vicinity of Mt Dandenong, but with some similarities to One Tree Hill in Ferny Creek), and also in Melbourne City and its suburbs South Yarra and Coburg.
Publishing history
Following the book's initial publication by Doubleday Books in 1945[1] it was subsequently published as follows:
- American Reprint, US, 1946[1]
- Francis Aldor, UK, 1948[2]
- Angus & Robertson, Australia, 1965[3]
and subsequent paperback, ebook and audio book editions.
The novel was also translated into German in 1994.[4]
Television adaptation
This novel was adapted for television as Boney and the Devil's Steps (1973), from a screenplay by Joy Cavill, and directed by Ron Way : Fauna Productions.[5]
See also
- 1946 in Australian literature
References
- ^ a b c d "Austlit — The Devil's Steps by Arthur Upfield". Austlit. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "The Devil's Steps (Francis Aldor)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "The Devil's Steps (A&R)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "The Devil's Steps (Goldmann)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Boney and the Devil's Steps". IDMB. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- v
- t
- e
- The Barrakee Mystery (1929)
- The Sands of Windee (1931)
- Wings Above the Diamantina (1936)
- Mr. Jelly's Business (1937)
- Winds of Evil (1937)
- The Bone is Pointed (1938)
- The Mystery of Swordfish Reef (1939)
- Bushranger of the Skies (1940)
- Death of a Swagman (1945)
- The Devil's Steps (1946)
- An Author Bites the Dust (1948)
- The Mountains Have a Secret (1948)
- The Widows of Broome (1950)
- The Bachelors of Broken Hill (1950)
- The New Shoe (1951)
- Venom House (1952)
- Murder Must Wait (1953)
- Death of a Lake (1954)
- Sinister Stones (1954)
- The Battling Prophet (1956)
- The Man of Two Tribes (1956)
- The Bushman Who Came Back (1957)
- Bony and the Black Virgin (1959)
- Journey to the Hangman (1959)
- Valley of Smugglers (1960)
- The White Savage (1961)
- The Will of the Tribe (1962)
- Madman's Bend (1963)
- The Lake Frome Monster (1966)
- The House of Cain (1928)
- The Beach of Atonement (1930)
- A Royal Abduction (1932)
- Breakaway House (1932)
- Gripped by Drought (1932)
- The Great Melbourne Cup Mystery (1933)
- The Gifts of Frank Cobbold (1935)
- The Murchison Murders (1934)