One of the interesting sessions at the 2009 Crime & Justice Festival was Lucy Sussex presenting a talk on Mary Fortune. Mary Fortune (c 1833-1909) was a pioneer Australian crime fiction author, and for too long she's been little known / little discussed.
A couple of books made possible by Lucy are now available which discuss Mary - Three Murder Mysteries is a collection of 3 of Mary's own stories and The Fortunes of Mary Fortune by Lucy herself which is the story of Mary Fortune. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the short stories signed by Lucy at the Crime and Justice Festival, and subsequently to track down a copy of Lucy's own book - albeit secondhand, as it is now out of print which is very sad.
Still - the 3 murder mysteries are fascinating reading, I'll write up a more detailed review asap.