Book review: Outrageous Fortunes, Lucy Sussex and Megan Brown

Mary Fortune arrived in Melbourne with an infant son in 1855. She would become one of Australia’s finest novelists, but almost forgotten by history. Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex expertly tell her story, which combines crime, bigamy, early feminism and a glimpse at the slimy underbelly of the Victorian goldfields. 

If nothing else, Brown and Sussex have committed an important literary archival act. Fortune wrote under a sprawling variety of pseudonyms and the full breadth of her story and contribution to Australian letters could be lost. They make a compelling case: Fortune’s story is worth telling.

The authors draw out strands of Fortune’s remarkable life to create a compelling true crime narrative. Most captivating is the story of her youngest son, George. While she was writing crime stories, George was committing crime. He wound up in some of Victoria’s most brutal prisons; Outrageous Fortunes spends a good deal of time with him. 

It all makes for a ripping yarn. The book faces a difficult challenge balancing a true crime narrative with academic cul de sacs of niche literary interest. It mainly achieve this, although it’s clear that it errs on historic accuracy. There are no imagined conversations here. The writers resist the temptation to project internal motivations onto their subjects. It means the book stops just short of being genuinely unputdownable and feels occasionally paralysed by an academic distance.

The focus on historical accuracy is understandable, and it’s clear Outrageous Fortunes is the result of a forensic and exhaustive research project. The result is a book that profiles one of Australia’s most fascinating writers and is a gift to Australian literary history.

Fortune sold dodgy grog and had a bigamous marriage to a policeman before a career as a journalist and author. Her collection of detective stories, The Detective’s Album, was the first book of published detective stories by a woman anywhere in the world. It was also Australia’s first collection of detective stories.

Read: Book review: Taking Apart The Bird Trap, Amanda Anastasi

Outrageous Fortunes is a book for the crime-lover or literary historian. Brown and Sussex have compiled a truly gripping volume. 

Outrageous Fortunes by Megan Brown and Lucy Sussex
Publisher: Black Inc (La Trobe University Press)
ISBN: 9781760645052
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336pp
Publication: 11 February 2025
RRP: $36.95