Bony (character) explained

Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte
First:The Barrakee Mystery
Last:The Lake Frome Monster
Creator:Arthur Upfield
Portrayer:Ron Randell
Frank Thring
James Laurenson
Cameron Daddo
Gender:Male
Detective inspector
Spouse:Marie
Children:3
Nationality:Australian

Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte is a fictional character created by Australian novelist Arthur Upfield (1890–1964).[1] Bony is a biracial Aboriginal Australian detective with a reputation for solving difficult cases by finding subtle clues. Upfield introduced the character in his 1929 novel The Barrakee Mystery. 29 novels featuring the character were published.

Upfield said that he based the character on Tracker Leon, a biracial Aboriginal Australian man who worked for the Queensland Police.

Biography

Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte is the son of an Aboriginal Australian mother and a white father. He was born during a time when an interracial relationship between an Aboriginal and a white person was forbidden. Bony was found in his dead mother's arms, where he was taken in by a Catholic mission; there he was named Napoleon Bonaparte, after the French military leader who lived from 1769 to 1821.

Bonaparte (nicknamed "Bony") holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queensland University.[2] He is a detective inspector with the Queensland Police. He applies his astounding tracking skills to crime investigation, and has earned a peerless reputation for solving cases. Occasionally, Queensland's criminal investigation department sends him on assignment to another jurisdiction in Australia, if a murder case there stymies the local authorities.[3] Some of his assignments require him to work undercover. During an undercover operation, he may pose as a station hand or labourer, with only a few senior police aware of his secret identity. He sometimes uses an alias, such as Nat Bonnar or (as in Death of a Swagman) Robert Burns. When he gives his real name, he often adds "My friends call me Bony".

Bony says that he has been sacked several times for disobeying direct orders from his superiors (most usually Col. Spendor), but adds that he is always reinstated almost immediately. He and his wife, Marie, live in Banyo, a suburb of Brisbane.[4] [5] They have three adult sons; the eldest, Charles, is studying to be a doctor.

Appearances

Novels

Title Publication date Reissue title
1The Barrakee Mystery 1929
2The Sands of Windee 1931
3Wings Above the Diamantina 1936
4Mr. Jelly's Business 1937 Murder Down Under
5Winds of Evil 1937
6The Bone is Pointed 1938
7The Mystery of Swordfish Reef 1939
8Bushranger of the Skies 1940 No Footprints in the Bush
9Death of a Swagman 1945
10The Devil's Steps 1946
11An Author Bites the Dust 1948
12The Mountains Have a Secret 1948
13The Widows of Broome 1950
14The Bachelors of Broken Hill 1950
15The New Shoe 1951
16Venom House 1952
17Murder Must Wait 1953
18Death of a Lake 1954
19Sinister Stones 1954 Cake in the Hat Box
20The Battling Prophet 1956
21The Man of Two Tribes 1956
22The Bushman Who Came Back 1957 Bony Buys a Woman
23Bony and the Black Virgin 1959 The Torn Branch
24Journey to the Hangman 1959 Bony and the Mouse
25Valley of Smugglers 1960 Bony and the Kelly Gang
26The White Savage 1961 Bony and the White Savage
27The Will of the Tribe 1962
28Madman's Bend 1963 The Body at Madman's Bend
29The Lake Frome Monster 1966

The Sands of Windee

While working on the second Bony novel, 1931's The Sands of Windee, Arthur Upfield discussed plot ideas with his outback companions. One of these companions was Snowy Rowles, a man who had previously committed three murders using methods similar to those described in Upfield's novel. When Rowles was caught, Upfield was forced to testify at his trial. The ensuing publicity surrounding the Murchison Murders—as they came to be called—greatly improved the sales of the novel. The ensuing notoriety helped to catalyze Upfield's rise to fame.

Adaptations

There have been multiple adaptations of the Bony books, although none of the actors who played the character were Aboriginal.

Radio

Wings Above the Diamantina was adapted for radio in 1939 starring Ron Randell as Boney.

The novels were adapted for radio in 1954 by Morris West as Man of Two Tribes. Frank Thring played Bonaparte.

Television

Two adaptations of the Bony novels have been made for television. Both starred white actors in the role.

The first adaptation aired for two series between 1971 and 1972. Caucasian New Zealand actor James Laurenson played Bonaparte in blackface. The character's name was spelt 'Boney' for the series, and some editions of the novels kept this spelling for later editions.

There was also a 1990 telemovie and later a 1992 spin-off TV series (using the original 'Bony' spelling). The pilot film depicted the titular protagonist (here named David John Bonaparte) as the grandson of the original Bony. The series however, portrayed him as being white, and raised by Aboriginals. Cameron Daddo played the character. Burnum Burnum co-starred as Bony's aboriginal mentor Uncle Albert.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rosemary, Herbert. Whodunit? : a who's who in crime & mystery writing. 2003-01-01. Oxford University Press. 0195157613. 21. 252700230.
  2. Web site: Arthur Upfield . Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) . Petri . Liukkonen . Kuusankoski Public Library . Finland . https://web.archive.org/web/20080105204337/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/aupfiel.htm . 5 January 2008 . dead .
  3. Web site: Australian Natural History and Human Ecology Page, Just for fans of Arthur Upfield's "Bony" Mysteries . 2008-04-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080725003432/http://nicholnl.wcp.muohio.edu/DingosBreakfastClub/Australia/UpfieldMysteries.html . 2008-07-25 . Australian Natural History and Human Ecology Page, Just For fans of Arthur Upfield's "Bony" Mysteries
  4. Book: The Cake in the Hat Box . 1955.
  5. Book: Murder Must Wait . 1953.