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Force and Fraud: A Tale of the Bush
Outback Australia in the mid-1800s.
When rich, domineering squatter Angus McAlpin is murdered, the obvious suspect is the penniless artist, Herbert Lindsey - who wants to marry his daughter, Flora.
McAlpin may have proclaimed that Flora would marry Herbert 'only over his dead body' - and Herbert's bloodstained knife and handkerchief were found near the murder scene - but the artist denies any wrongdoing.
So begins a compelling murder mystery and trial, as the heiress seeks to prove her lover's innocence, and a country town takes sides.
Force may have killed Angus McAlpin, but fraud follows murder in a cunning plan to see Herbert Lindsey hanged - by any means necessary.
For someone else is determined to marry Flora, to obtain her property and her person; and he will stop at nothing.
Praise for Force and Fraud: 'Stunning historical mystery. Court scene worthy of Perry Mason' - Kerry Greenwood
When rich, domineering squatter Angus McAlpin is murdered, the obvious suspect is the penniless artist, Herbert Lindsey - who wants to marry his daughter, Flora.
McAlpin may have proclaimed that Flora would marry Herbert 'only over his dead body' - and Herbert's bloodstained knife and handkerchief were found near the murder scene - but the artist denies any wrongdoing.
So begins a compelling murder mystery and trial, as the heiress seeks to prove her lover's innocence, and a country town takes sides.
Force may have killed Angus McAlpin, but fraud follows murder in a cunning plan to see Herbert Lindsey hanged - by any means necessary.
For someone else is determined to marry Flora, to obtain her property and her person; and he will stop at nothing.
Praise for Force and Fraud: 'Stunning historical mystery. Court scene worthy of Perry Mason' - Kerry Greenwood
- GenresCrime
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1863
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27 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Davitt
3 booksDavitt, born Ellen Heseltine at Hull, Yorkshire came to Australia with her husband, Arthur Davitt, in 1854. The couple established a Model School in Melbourne, but a financial recession and in-house bickering led to its closure in 1859. Following Arthur Davitt's death the next year, Ellen Davitt went on teaching in various Victorian schools, gave popular lecture tours, and wrote several serialised novels, novellas and stories for the Australian Journal, beginning with a pioneering work of crime fiction, Force and Fraud: A Tale of the Bush (1865). Davitt was the sister-in-law of the successful British writer Anthony Trollope, but had little contact with him. She died alone in Fitzroy, Melbourne, after many years of poverty.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2017
High marks for this book, which has a dual significance: since it is most likely that it is the first work of crime fiction written in Australia, that also makes it the first work of crime fiction written by an Australian woman.
Force and Fraud first appeared in serialized form in Volume 1, issue #1 of The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Amusing and Instructive Literature, Science and the Arts in 1865. Despite the fact that in her book Women Writing Crime Fiction, 1860-1880: Fourteen American, British and Australian Authors Kate Watson says that Force and Fraud was "pioneering in its status as the first murder mystery in Australia, and the first 'whodunit'," sadly, Ellen Davitt is yet another woman writer who has faded into obscurity. The good news is that she has been recognized by Sisters in Crime Australia with the creation of their annual Davitt Award.
Plot without spoilers and more about the author can be found here at my reading journal.
Considering its significance in the history of crime fiction writing, hopefully more mystery/crime readers will become aware of Force and Fraud, which as I said earlier deserves very high marks. It is not your ordinary whodunit by any stretch -- while the story progresses, it moves from the bush to small towns to the city of Melbourne, and there's even a brief bit at sea as a ship makes its through a treacherous reef. The sense of place is so strong that I could picture it in my mind while reading, always a plus. The characterizations are realistic and move from lower to upper classes and everything in between.
While not all crime readers will immediately run to pick up a copy of this book, I particularly enjoyed this one and once I'd started, was reluctant to put it down. It's a novel I can certainly recommend, especially to readers who are interested in the history of crime writing and to others who like me, are heavily into older crime novels. It's certainly worth checking out and the bottom line here is that it's also a lot of fun.
Force and Fraud first appeared in serialized form in Volume 1, issue #1 of The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Amusing and Instructive Literature, Science and the Arts in 1865. Despite the fact that in her book Women Writing Crime Fiction, 1860-1880: Fourteen American, British and Australian Authors Kate Watson says that Force and Fraud was "pioneering in its status as the first murder mystery in Australia, and the first 'whodunit'," sadly, Ellen Davitt is yet another woman writer who has faded into obscurity. The good news is that she has been recognized by Sisters in Crime Australia with the creation of their annual Davitt Award.
Plot without spoilers and more about the author can be found here at my reading journal.
Considering its significance in the history of crime fiction writing, hopefully more mystery/crime readers will become aware of Force and Fraud, which as I said earlier deserves very high marks. It is not your ordinary whodunit by any stretch -- while the story progresses, it moves from the bush to small towns to the city of Melbourne, and there's even a brief bit at sea as a ship makes its through a treacherous reef. The sense of place is so strong that I could picture it in my mind while reading, always a plus. The characterizations are realistic and move from lower to upper classes and everything in between.
While not all crime readers will immediately run to pick up a copy of this book, I particularly enjoyed this one and once I'd started, was reluctant to put it down. It's a novel I can certainly recommend, especially to readers who are interested in the history of crime writing and to others who like me, are heavily into older crime novels. It's certainly worth checking out and the bottom line here is that it's also a lot of fun.
March 28, 2021
'Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush' by Ellen Davitt is regarded as the first Australian crime novel. It was first published in 1865. I discovered it recently and finished reading it yesterday.
A rich man is found murdered in the bush. It looks like he was stabbed with a bowie knife. The knife belongs to a younger man who is engaged to this rich man's daughter. This younger man pleads his innocence. But unfortunately for him, the evidence is against him. In addition to his knife being the murder weapon, this younger man's garments are blood-stained. Also, the rich man hated this younger man and had told his daughter that he disapproved of her fiance and if she insisted on marrying him, he'd disown her and cut her off in his will. So the younger man has motive too. What actually happened and who is the actual murderer is revealed in the rest of the story.
Reading 'Force and Fraud' was like watching an old movie. There is, of course, the central mystery, but the story is not just about the mystery. There is a huge cast of characters, there is humour and a comedy track, there is witty and sharp dialogue, there is wholesome entertainment for the whole family. There are many adorable characters in the story who have their own unique personality traits. The depiction of Australia of the middle of the 19th century is very fascinating and feels realistic, as it is probably based on the author's own experiences. The revelation when it comes is not at all surprising – we can guess it a mile away – but that doesn't take away our enjoyment of the novel.
The edition I read has a fascinating introduction about Ellen Davitt and her life – how she came to Australia as a teacher and how she ended up becoming a novelist. There is even a treat for quiz lovers – that Ellen Davitt was Anthony Trollope's sister-in-law. I loved that introduction.
I'll repeat here what I said in my previous post on Ellen Davitt – "Ellen Davitt is regarded as the mother of Australian crime fiction. Her crime mystery 'Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush' was first published in 1865. It pre-dated Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel 'A Study in Scarlet' (published in 1887) by more than two decades. More interestingly, it pre-dated Wilkie Collins' 'The Moonstone' (published in 1868) by a few years. 'The Moonstone' is regarded by many as the first detective crime mystery published. I don't know why, because Ellen Davitt's book came before that. Out of the famous detective crime mysteries, only Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin mysteries pre-date Ellen Davitt's book. Ellen Davitt was a pioneer and she broke new ground. She needs to be celebrated not just in Australia but across the world."
It was wonderful to travel through the river (aka Australian crime fiction) and discover its source. It was like sailing in the middle of the gorge with tall mountains on both sides, and then the mountains end suddenly and the river widens and we see the beautiful town on the river bank unfurled in all its glory. The scene is splendid. It is spectacular. I'm honoured to be here.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"Nowhere is human nature exhibited with more truth than amongst the mixed community of a crowded ship; amongst people who embarked for the most part in amity towards each other, but who are now aroused from their better feelings by petty animosities, by the inconvenience attendant upon limited space or by want of occupation, and who jostle one another, and strive for pre-eminence – just as in the wider world, where every trade and calling illustrates the jealousy between man and man. But when they part at length, probably to meet no more, a kind of forgiveness of the past – a desire to obliterate all remembrance of the injury – generally takes the place of ill-will. It is as if they were making their peace with the dying, and (to continue the simile) after our fellow passengers of a voyage have been gone from the vessel a few weeks, they become as entirely forgotten as fellow-passengers through life who have gone to their graves."
Have you read 'Force and Fraud'? What do you think about it?
A rich man is found murdered in the bush. It looks like he was stabbed with a bowie knife. The knife belongs to a younger man who is engaged to this rich man's daughter. This younger man pleads his innocence. But unfortunately for him, the evidence is against him. In addition to his knife being the murder weapon, this younger man's garments are blood-stained. Also, the rich man hated this younger man and had told his daughter that he disapproved of her fiance and if she insisted on marrying him, he'd disown her and cut her off in his will. So the younger man has motive too. What actually happened and who is the actual murderer is revealed in the rest of the story.
Reading 'Force and Fraud' was like watching an old movie. There is, of course, the central mystery, but the story is not just about the mystery. There is a huge cast of characters, there is humour and a comedy track, there is witty and sharp dialogue, there is wholesome entertainment for the whole family. There are many adorable characters in the story who have their own unique personality traits. The depiction of Australia of the middle of the 19th century is very fascinating and feels realistic, as it is probably based on the author's own experiences. The revelation when it comes is not at all surprising – we can guess it a mile away – but that doesn't take away our enjoyment of the novel.
The edition I read has a fascinating introduction about Ellen Davitt and her life – how she came to Australia as a teacher and how she ended up becoming a novelist. There is even a treat for quiz lovers – that Ellen Davitt was Anthony Trollope's sister-in-law. I loved that introduction.
I'll repeat here what I said in my previous post on Ellen Davitt – "Ellen Davitt is regarded as the mother of Australian crime fiction. Her crime mystery 'Force and Fraud : A Tale of the Bush' was first published in 1865. It pre-dated Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel 'A Study in Scarlet' (published in 1887) by more than two decades. More interestingly, it pre-dated Wilkie Collins' 'The Moonstone' (published in 1868) by a few years. 'The Moonstone' is regarded by many as the first detective crime mystery published. I don't know why, because Ellen Davitt's book came before that. Out of the famous detective crime mysteries, only Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin mysteries pre-date Ellen Davitt's book. Ellen Davitt was a pioneer and she broke new ground. She needs to be celebrated not just in Australia but across the world."
It was wonderful to travel through the river (aka Australian crime fiction) and discover its source. It was like sailing in the middle of the gorge with tall mountains on both sides, and then the mountains end suddenly and the river widens and we see the beautiful town on the river bank unfurled in all its glory. The scene is splendid. It is spectacular. I'm honoured to be here.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite passages from the book.
"Nowhere is human nature exhibited with more truth than amongst the mixed community of a crowded ship; amongst people who embarked for the most part in amity towards each other, but who are now aroused from their better feelings by petty animosities, by the inconvenience attendant upon limited space or by want of occupation, and who jostle one another, and strive for pre-eminence – just as in the wider world, where every trade and calling illustrates the jealousy between man and man. But when they part at length, probably to meet no more, a kind of forgiveness of the past – a desire to obliterate all remembrance of the injury – generally takes the place of ill-will. It is as if they were making their peace with the dying, and (to continue the simile) after our fellow passengers of a voyage have been gone from the vessel a few weeks, they become as entirely forgotten as fellow-passengers through life who have gone to their graves."
Have you read 'Force and Fraud'? What do you think about it?
October 30, 2016
Ellen Davitt was one of Australia's first writers of crime: this reprint of her book Force and Fraud (and a shorter tale) is preceded by an introductory biography by Dr Lucy Sussex, putting Davitt's life and the book into context. The story is vivacious, witty and fast-paced, with very human characters and an ending I didn't predict. A good read for any lover of crime fiction as well as those interested in the early history of the genre.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews