Mary Fortune

Mary Helena Fortune was an Australian author and journalist who was one of the earliest female writers of detective fiction. A prolific pseudonymous writer of fiction, poetry, and journalism, she contributed chiefly to The Australian Journal. Her best-known work, The Detective's Album, comprised more than 500 short stories published in the journal between 1868 and 1908. Fortune's writing was characterised by an unsparing portrayal of colonial society and urban Melbourne, incorporating the prevalence of violence and the mistreatment of women.