Between 1865 and 1910 Mary Fortune wrote over 500 crime stories, set in the Victorian goldfields, Melbourne and the outback. Published initially in newspapers and the like, they form the first detective fiction series written by a woman, although she was published under a series of pseudonyms hiding both her real identity and her gender from the wider world. At the same time as this collection was released a biography of Fortune, and her career-criminal son George, entitled Outrageous Fortunes has been published - which is well worth reading in tandem.
This reviewer was particularly struck by the intended "pun" of the title of the biography and did wonder whether Fortune would be chuffed by it. There's a sly, dry sense of humour at the heart of many of this collection that makes me hope she would. I was also struck most forcibly whilst listening to a talk by the two editors in Ballarat recently, when something was mentioned about the difference between male and female writers of the time. Men having a tendency to embellish (dare I suggest show off) their "education" with florid language, and the inclusion of Latin and other classical language words and phrases. This collection, on the other hand, hints at the gender of its writer more strongly in that the language is pretty direct, there is that sly sense of humour, and a strong sense of support for the underdog. To say nothing of some overt language of affection for other men in the stories that seemed to be hinting at one of two potential scenarios.
The thing that you'll find most about NOTHING BUT MURDERS AND BLOODSHED AND HANGING (a title taken from one of Fortune's own stories), is that it's such a readable and enlightening set of stories. They are all about murder and mayhem, and there's a sense of real knowledge of policing of the time (there is conjecture that her marriage to a local policeman in the Dunolly area might have been part of her source of information) but it seemed to this reader that Fortune must have been possessed of a keen eye and ear for her fellow citizens. As well as that strong sense of justice - perhaps because of the fortunes of her own son George, who went from a street urchin to a career criminal, whilst Fortune was battling plenty of her own demons. She has, it seems, one hell of a personal backstory, and whilst there are possibly glimpses of the struggles in the stories themselves, there are also wonderful depictions of society, the environs, and the sensibilities of the time.
For those of us residing on the Goldfields today there are plenty of references to places that will ring bells, as are there likely to be for those in the inner city of Melbourne, although the mark of the gold diggings is still very visible to this day - mullock heaps, mine shafts and all. It's also a cleverly combined set of stories, taking the reader through a range of subjects including murder, bushrangers, bootlegging, sexual violence and armed robbery. Has to be said that this reviewer found the inclusion of women's viewpoints, sexual violence, manipulation and the difficulties of life in that period for women particularly illuminating. It's a viewpoint that is too often just ignored, or white-washed. Yet another period in history that a return to the restrictions and prejudices of, should be resisted at all costs.
There are also many hints of her Irish background, and the well known antipathy on the Goldfields between the miners and the authorities, leading of course to some of the defining moments in Australian political history. It's sobering to think that her anonymity, and her sad and unfortunate death in 1911 meant that her work, and her identity were very nearly lost. What Sussex and Brown have done (for periods of 35 and 25 years* respectively) is a great service to Australian literature, but also truth-telling in history. Mary Fortune was undoubtedly a trailblazer, and we should know her name, and her work.
* Number of years quoted from my memory from something said at the talk mentioned earlier. It may be slightly inaccurate, but it's close.
Nothing But Murders and Bloodshed and Hanging
A murderer is identified by a team of oxen. A dead man rises from a watery grave to indict his killer. A phantom hearse gliding through Melbourne’s slums foretells violent death. A seamstress turns detective to avenge her friend’s homicide. A locked-tent mystery.
Such are the themes of Mary Fortune’s ingenious and dramatic crime stories. Between 1865 and 1910 she wrote over 500 of them; they comprise the first ever detective fiction series written by a woman. Set in the outback, on the goldfields, and in the burgeoning metropolis of Melbourne, they offer a vivid account of life and death in colonial-era Australia. Fortune tackled subjects such as murder, armed robbery, bootlegging, and sexual violence with a frankness unprecedented for a woman in the 19th century, in styles ranging from melodrama and Gothic horror to social realism and what is now called noir. This collection comprises 17 of her finest stories, edited and introduced by literary historians Lucy Sussex and Megan Brown.
Born in Ireland in 1832, Fortune arrived in Australia during the gold-rush, which she observed firsthand and depicted in many of her stories. A brief, bigamous marriage to a policeman gave her inside knowledge to write about crime, and over the next 40 years her prolific output was serialized under the title The Detective’s Album in the mass-circulation Australian Journal. She often lived precariously, struggling with alcohol and unable to prevent her son drifting into a life of crime, and preserved her privacy by always using pseudonyms. Her anonymity meant that when she died in 1911 she was almost lost to literary history. Only recently has her true identity and her extraordinary life story emerged. This collection, appearing concurrently with a biography, restores her to her rightful place as a trailblazing crime writer.
Add comment