- Mary Fortune
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Mary Helena Fortune (circa 1833 - circa 1910) was an Australian writer, under the pseudonyms Waif Wander and W.W. She was one of the earliest female detective writers in the world.[1] One of the earliest women to write detective fiction, and probably the first to write from the viewpoint of the detective.
Contents
Personal life
Mary Fortune was born around 1833 in Belfast, Ireland. She traveled with her father to Canada. In Melbourne, Canada, she married Joseph Fortune on 25 March 1851 and had one son. When her father left Canada for the Australian goldfields, she followed him, leaving her husband behind and travelling to to Australia with her son. She arrived in Melbourne, Victoria, on 3 October 1855.
In November 1856, she gave birth to a second son. In January 1858 her elder son died. On 25 October 1858, Mary married Percy Rollo Brett (possibly bigamously) at Dunolly, Victoria.[1][2]
A prolific storyteller, in all she wrote over 500 detective stories over 40 years, most featuring Detective Mark Sinclair.
During her lifetime, she was popular enough to have a racehorse[3] and greyhound[4] named after her.
She died an alcoholic, the date and place still unknown - somehow fitting for this pioneering woman of mystery. Her death passed without public notice, in part because she wrote under pseudonyms.[5]
Her horror fiction story "The White Maniac: A Doctor's Tale" (included in James Doig's anthology Australian Ghost Stories (2010)) verges on being a tale of vampirism, but its theme is in fact anthrophagy.
The Detective's Album
She is best known for The Detective's Album, the longest-running early detective serial anywhere in the world.[6] Narrated by detective Mark Sinclair, The Detective's Album was serialized for forty years in the Australian Journal from 1868 to 1908. In 1871, seven of the stories were published as a book, as The Detective's Album: Tales of the Australian Police.[1]
Examples of her work
- Wongaworra, Alexandra Times, 23 December 1876.
- Christmas Eve, Long Ago, At Braidwood, Portland Guardian, 25 December 1879.
- Monk's Mark, Burra Record, 28 April 1882.
- Ike's Sin: A Story of the Sea, Queanbeyan Age, 26 December 1884.
- The Detective's Dream, Portland Guardian, 24 December 1886.
- Three Jacks, Camperdown Chronicle, 3 November 1903.
- Noel or Love and War: Part 1 and Part 2, Camperdown Chronicle, 2 February 1904 and 9 February 1904.
- The Lillies of Forgiveness, Camperdown Chronicle, 26 April 1904.
- Coo-ee!, The Mail, 8 April 1916 (poem quoted in its entirety in a letter to the editor).
- Reprint of The Detectives Album edited by Lucy Sussex[1]
- "The White Maniac: A Doctor's Tale" [2]
Online resources
- Fortune, Mary, person ID 538006 on Trove at the Australian National Library.
- Lucy Sussex: "A Woman of Mystery: Mary Fortune" [3]
References
- ^ a b c Sussex, Lucy. "Fortune, Mary Helena (c. 1833 - c. 1910)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10167b.htm. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Bryan's Memoir: Mary Fortune. 'Waif Wander' and the Kelly Gang- About Father. Part 1". Lockwood Seasons. Blogspot. http://lockwoodseasons.blogspot.com/2010/10/bryans-memoir-mary-fortune-waif-wander.html. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Kingston Turf Club". The Argus (Melbourne): p. 10. 20 March 1891. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/8485308?searchTerm=%22Waif%20Wander%22. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Waif Wander" "Queanbeyan Coursing Club". Queanbeyan Age: p. 2. 14 September 1887. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/30917240?searchTerm="Waif Wander". Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ Sussex, Lucy. "A Woman of Mystery: Mary Fortune". The Lucy Sussex Home Page. Lucy Sussex. http://www.sussex.id.au/home/index.php/1800austwomencrimefiction/womanofmystery. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ Doig, James (June 2011). "Australian Ghost Stories". The National Library Magazine: 22–24. ISSN 1836-6147.
Categories:- Australian writers
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