Exhibit A Unmasked: Laraine Stephens Unites Local History & Crime Fiction to a Riveting Cliffhanger: Zoom Review - 11am, Saturday, 20 November 2021
Zoom Review
Exhibit A Unmasked:
Unites Local History
&
Crime Fiction
to a Riveting Cliffhanger
REVIEW PART ONE
by
Sharni Brazier
All of us were bracing ourselves,
waiting with bated breath
for a jarring account of murder.
Peter Ratcliff, Secretary of
Mordialloc & District Historical Society Inc.
(M&DH Society),
lulled us into a false sense of calm
in vividly describing the genteel,
historical origins of the Bayside municipality
his organisation serves:
Mentone, Parkdale and Mordialloc.
M&DH Society is dedicated to
meticulously preserving and representing
the cultural heritage
of the municipality’s past.
Mentone in itself was originally planned
as a refreshing beachside holiday escape
from the teeming bustle of overcrowded
inner “Marvellous Melbourne”.
Its architecture is an echo of this initial vision,
with historic buildings
dating from the 1880s to the 1920s.
Credit: Andrew Owens - 2007
One of the most prominent being
the former coffee palace that
M&DH Society rallied to successfully gain
state heritage protection for in 2020.
Left to Right: Peter Ratcliff, George Fagin, David Dodd
Peter Ratcliff’s brief would be
the calm before the storm....
Suddenly, we were thrust from Mentone
to a crime scene in neighbouring Cheltenham.
The date: 15 January 1902.
“Collective Detective”
regaled to us a torrid crime of passion...or was it?
A George Fagan fatally wounded his wife Jane
upon discovery of a letter revealing
her affair with another man.
George Fagan, however,
was nonchalant in the aftermath.
There was no passionate display
of mourning for his wife,
nor for himself in the death sentence
handed down to him.
Sign of a true psychopath, perhaps?
Detective Dodd,
a veritable raconteur,
delivered this macabre story
with distinct relish.
The tone was set for the
dastardly and gruesome deeds
to follow in the nearby municipality
of Sandringham & District...
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| Death Masks Image Credit: Joy of Museums Virtual Tours - 2017 |
REVIEW PART TWO
by
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| https://www.facebook.com/daviesnathanielj |
Experience working as a Volunteer Guide
at the Old Melbourne Gaol,
serving in secondary schools
as Head Librarian
and possessing a
Diploma in Education,
well-equipped Laraine with
an admirable skills-base
for writing
I have read the odd mystery novel,
but not as many as Laraine Stephens.
Laraine professed to
knowing every single title
in her school library growing up.
Recounting
her love of novels by
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle,
Laraine even visited Sherlock Holmes’
fictitious house in 221b Baker Street.
Credit: Graham Tiller - 2017
I have been to the area and 221b Baker Street,
dedicated to Sherlock Holmes fans.
It has many relics from the books and decor
set out like his apartment would have been furbished.
It was a fun place to visit when in London.
It intrigued me hearing
the true local history of
Brighton Victoria
where Laraine's crime story unfolds,
which I knew little about.
 |
| Credit: Brighton Historical Society |
This included the devastating
1918 cyclone in Brighton
which wiped out many houses and bungalows.
The “Brighton Tornado”,
remains the worst recorded cyclone
in Victoria on record.
Credit: Graeme Johnstone ("Friday Magazine" :
88.3 Southern FM Radio): Aired - Friday, 12 November 2021
Laraine’s writing process
was most interesting to me.
A working methodology comprised of
20% “plotter” and 80% “pantser”,
with great emphasis on character development.
Credit: National Archives of Australia: "Treatment of Returned Soldiers Suffering Shell Shock"
Laraine’s exploration and portrayal of
and doctors’ responses to it
during the period of
and its aftermath,
demonstrated the length of
research undertaken
by Laraine to propel with
credible conviction,
a spectacular recipe
for a fascinating murder mystery.
REVIEW PART THREE
by
Laraine demonstrated with
moulding hand gestures
the process of
creating death masks at
The Dead House of the
for all zoomers to envisage the stark image.
Death Mask - Female - "Stranger of the Sciene" - Germany - Circa 1900
We could sense Laraine's incredulity
as she explained that it was thought
improper to cut a dead woman’s hair,
but perfectly fine to shave
a dead man’s hair and beard.
Laraine went on to explain that death masks were
initially created to serve as mementos,
but by and throughout the nineteenth century
were considered valuable aides for
analysing criminal minds via
the no longer practiced science;
On that note,
despite the dark subject matter,
Laraine’s humour shone through
as she introduced us to her own
phrenology bust
aptly named
Phred;
a fully-fledged
supporter like herself!
Phrenology was considered to have legitimacy
up until the end of the nineteenth century.
It was based on the belief
that the shape or contours of a person's head
provided an indication of their character.
Different parts of the brain
controlled different parts
of a
person’s personality.
If one part was used more,
it was believed it would form
a lump in that part of the skull.
If it was used less,
it would show a depression in the skull.
It was believed this could detect
a person’s predisposition to criminality.
She cheekily suggested that
we were probably all
now checking our own skulls.
We were treated to a story,
which she told us was a “secret”.
In 1929 the Old Melbourne Gaol
was undergoing renovations.
As a consequence, the graveyard was dug
up.
A group of schoolboys
escaped with its bones,
thinking they were the remains of
 |
| ABC Australia: "The Strange Case of Ned Kelly's Head" - 25 August 2015 |
The big secret and reveal?
...Laraine’s dad was one of the schoolboys!
Almost tongue-in-cheek,
Laraine said she had
“only told about 30 000 people”,
so we were sworn to secrecy.
Laraine informed us that much
of her research was via
National Library of Australia’s
catalogue.
Via studying its repository of scanned
original news articles, advertisements
and photographs
Laraine was able to piece together
her compelling historical crime-fiction story.
In the climactic conclusion
to an enthralling, insightful presentation,
Laraine was met with a rousing response of applause.
Discover Laraine's Writing for Yourself:
Visit: Website
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