Mrs Nan Glover (alias Mrs Ethel Livesey) is charged with more counts of false pretences in Tasmania in 1949.
Ethel’s past catches up with her. She is charged and gaoled in Adelaide in 1950 for larceny of goods dating back to when she was on the run in 1946.
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Amazing Mrs Livesey is the story of an international confidence trickster working in the early part of the twentieth century. Written as narrative or factional history, real people and actual events have been woven together with fictitious character names, and imagined conversations and actions to bridge occasional gaps in the storyline or account for unnamed people.
When first handed the information on Ethel Livesey, I was not prepared for the astounding number of documents concerning her still held in archives, government departments and libraries around the world, nor where the search would lead. This woman was a treasure trove, and like all good treasures, often carefully hidden. I would frustratingly lose her for a period, only to find her again, often through later criminal cases and mentions of one of her over 40 aliases. She never stayed out of trouble for long.
Con men were relatively common in the first half of the twentieth century, but a female confidence trickster of Ethel’s caliber was rare. As well as the scams included in this book, there were at least two other fraudulent crimes reported in the newspapers at the time with a woman using movie star aliases. While these crimes could have been perpetrated by Ethel, I did not include them as I was not sure it was her, even though the timing, descriptions and locations seemed to fit. There is, however, one unverified story I did include, that of Miss Eva Taylor, the fake opera singer and stowaway. I searched in vain for proof that this was indeed Ethel, but with no official charges having been laid, and no photographs or documentation other than newspaper accounts, this was difficult to prove. But as it was such an audacious act befitting her modus operandi at the time, I decided it was too good a story not to include.
Initially I intended to write through the eyes of Ethel’s son Frank Bolan, but upon completion of the manuscript I realised the story worked best in the third person. Frank’s often-colloquial language has been maintained throughout, giving us a glimpse of the man himself.
As a side note, the currency conversions from the UK and Australian pound to today’s Australian dollar equivalents were obtained using an inflation calculator and conversion rates as at November 2015.
I could not have pieced together Ethel’s story with out the help of an army of people from around the world, who became as enthusiast as I was to find out the truth and helped me pry out all of the facts. A huge thank you to Steve Jackson, librarian and archive assistant on the Isle of Man, the staff at St Luke’s Rotorua in New Zealand, the wonderful staff at the British Archives, National Library of Australia, the National Library of New Zealand, State Library of Victoria and State Library of New South Wales, Sean Bridgeman at the National Film & Sound Archive, and Andrew Griffin, Fiona Burns and especially Edmund Rutliedge at the National Archives of Australia. I cannot thank enough those who shared their personal stories about Mrs Livesey and their families, namely Paul Kane, Roy McDonald, Annette Robinson and Sue Monroe. It was a delight to meet you all, and to laugh and share your memories. Annette still has the giant and incredibly heavy white ostrich feather fan Mrs Livesey gave to her as a child; it was a privilege to hold something so extravagant that had been gifted by the woman I had been chasing for so long.
I must thank my wonderful mentor Richard Walsh, who is not only always encouraging and enthusiast, but whose great advice has helped me in countless ways. Thank you R.
Thank you to my brilliant legal eagle and dear friend Peter Gain, for assisting me with court protocol, legal and military jargon. Your response as the first ‘outsider’ to read the full manuscript was wonderful to receive, and your help, as always, is much appreciated.
I must also thank all of the staff at Allen & Unwin. I once again had the privilege of working with Siobhan Cantrill, as well as Rebecca Kaiser, Katri Hilden and Angela Handley. Thank you ladies, once again you have polished this gem until it shines.
A huge thank you to Luita Aichinger for telling me what she knew of her paternal grandmother and for handing over her initial research and the precious audiotapes left by her father, and for entrusting me with this story.
And last, but far from least, to my wonderful husband Bert and my long suffering family and friends, thank you all for putting up with me, and the obsession that Ethel became.
Freda Marnie Nicholls
The Amazing Mrs Livesey Page 23
