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Outrageous Fortunes : the adventures of Mary Fortune, crime-writer, and her criminal son George
Brown, Megan, (Literary scholar)2025
Books, Manuscripts
When Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with her infant son in 1855, she was determined to reinvent herself. The Victorian goldfields were just the place. After a time selling sly grog and a bigamous marriage to a policeman, Mary became a pioneering journalist and author. The Detective's Album was the first book of detective stories to be published in Australia and the first by a woman to be published anywhere in the world. Her work appeared in magazines and newspapers for over forty years - but none of her readers knew who she was. She wrote using pseudonyms, often adopting the voice of a male narrator to write about 'unladylike' subjects. In Outrageous Fortunes, Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex retrieve Fortune's astonishing career and discover an equally absorbing story in her youngest son, George. While Mary was writing crime, George was committing it. Convicted of theft and bank robbery, he spent time in some of the colony's most brutal prisons. In their intertwined stories, crime fiction meets true crime, and Melbourne's literary bohemia consorts with the criminal underworld.
Main title:
Outrageous Fortunes : the adventures of Mary Fortune, crime-writer, and her criminal son George / by Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex.
Author:
Imprint:
Collingwood, VIC : La Trobe University Press, in conjunction with Black Inc, 2025.©2025.
Collation:
341 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
ISBN:
9781760645052 (paperback)
Dewey class:
BIOGRAPHY
Language:
English
Subject:
Fortune, Mary, 1833?-1911Fortune, George, 1856-1906Fortune, Mary, 1833?-1911 -- FamilyAuthors, Australian -- BiographyPrisoners -- Australia -- BiographyWomen immigrants -- Australia -- BiographyCriminals -- Family relationshipsCrime -- Victoria -- Melbourne -- HistoryWomen journalists -- Australia -- BiographyMothers and sons -- Australia -- BiographyCriminals -- Australia -- BiographyAustralia -- Emigration and immigration -- 19th century
BRN:
522666
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | Nonfiction | BIOGRAPHY FORT | Available |