Winner of Best True Crime in the 2023 Danger Awards
Shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year 2022 (non-fiction)
“[Butler] explores the value of history...with grace and insight.”
“The Boy in the Dress is Butler’s fascinating account of his investigation, driven throughout by the author’s sense of Warwick as a kindred spirit.”
“Open-hearted, compelling and brilliantly researched.”
“Butler’s deeply moving and gripping family memoir is a testament to his thorough research and dedication to uncovering the truth.”
“Terrific read, captivating, stirring, important.”
Where to Buy
On a balmy Townsville night in 1944, a young serviceman, Warwick Meale, is found murdered.
The army and police do not, or will not, conduct a proper investigation and history forgets the killer until now. Nearly eighty years on, Warwick’s descendant Jonathan Butler dusts off the case and chases the leads that were there all along.
THE BOY IN THE DRESS exhumes secrets of life on the home front during World War II, where tensions between soldiers boiled over, new expressions of sexuality flourished and the threat of invasion catapulted the status quo into disarray.
The truth of this family legend, and this little-known chapter in Australian military history, is more complex and engrossing than anyone could have imagined.
THE BOY IN THE DRESS (Affirm Press) is out now. A full list of online retailers can be found on the homepage.
