I have attempted to remain true to the immediate facts regarding Molly’s murder. Documents relating to the investigation of Molly Dean’s death did indeed go missing.
The details of Molly’s relationships with her mother, Ethel Dean, and with Adam Graham were reported widely in the press during the coronial inquest. So too was Molly’s desire to pursue a career as a writer, and her relationship with the artist Colin Colahan. Her final night, from the calls placed to Colahan, to the people who saw her walking home, the nature of her injuries and the placement of the stocking and underwear, adheres to the facts laid out before the coroner’s court. I have merely provided thoughts for Molly that seemed appropriate to her mood and what was apparently said during the final phone call. Molly did tell Colin Colahan and Norman Lewis that she ‘wished to God’ she didn’t have to go home to Milton Street that night.
Detective Harold Saker initially assisted Percy Lambell at the crime scene, but was replaced by Jerry O’Keeffe at 9 a.m. on 21 November. I have assigned Saker’s brief role to O’Keeffe.
The lines from the poem ‘Merlin’ are Molly’s own. The poem was published in 1929 in volume 1, number 2, of the short-lived Melbourne journal, Verse.
At one point during the investigation, newspapers reported that police were of the opinion the murder was committed by a man, but that a woman was directly associated with the crime. This couple were supposedly known to Molly Dean, had objections to some of her associations and had threatened her accordingly. While these articles do not name Adam Graham and Ethel Dean, the inference is clear.
The evidence against Adam Graham, such as his unusual gait, bloodstains on his suit and his history of following Molly (at Ethel Dean’s behest) is all fact. However, there is nothing to indicate he knew Molly would return to Elwood that night. The criminal case against Graham was dropped by the prosecution on the day it was due to commence, presumably due to the circumstantial nature of the evidence. I could find no account of any further investigation into the murder of Molly Dean.
Colin Colahan was deeply affected by Molly’s murder and left Australia several years later to pursue a successful career in England and Europe. He is known to have painted two images of Molly Dean, a portrait (location unknown) and a nude titled Sleep (private collection). In the narrative I have inferred the nude was painted first, but the opposite is true. Sleep was still in the artist’s studio, unfinished, at the time of Molly’s murder.
Percy Lambell appears sporadically in the newspapers throughout his life as a member of the Victoria Police Force. He served a distinguished career keeping the streets of Melbourne free from crime. I don’t believe he had children, but I’m sure they’d be just as proud of him as the fictitious Daphne.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Toni Jordan and Paddy O’Reilly for your pushing, cajoling, critiquing, inspiring and extensive hand-holding, and to Rob McDonald for being the voice of reason and an enthusiastic cheer squad. Thanks also to my agent, Sally Bird, to Charlotte Cole, and to Angela Meyer, Clive Hebard and all the incredible team at Bonnier Publishing Australia, for believing in Molly and helping to bring her to life. Mum and Dad, thanks for everything.
Questions for Reading Groups
As a young woman in 1930, do you think Molly was naïve or gutsy to consider giving away her career as a teacher to try to become a writer? Why?
Why do you think Alex was initially reluctant to sell the portrait?
Should Alex have sold the painting when she first had a chance?
When do you think Alex became more interested in unravelling Molly’s story than in simply increasing the value of the painting?
Do you think Ethel Dean knew something about what happened to Molly?
Was Adam Graham involved in Molly’s death? What makes you think so (or not)?
What do you think of John’s theories? Was Molly’s murder the subject of a cover-up?
‘A crap marriage is a great motivator for getting to work bright and early, and John’s wife, well … I did try to warn him: now I’m just waiting to pick up the pieces.’
Alex and John are close friends. Do you think Alex is hoping for more?
Do Molly and Alex have anything in common?
Could Alex have handled the meeting with Donald Raeburn differently? Should she have gone to the police?
The reader knows from the first chapter that Molly Dean is murdered, yet this does not actually happen until almost the end of the book. How does this affect the reader’s feelings towards Molly?
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Katherine Kovacic was a veterinarian but preferred training dogs to taking their temperatures. She seized the chance to return to study and earned an MA, followed by a PhD, in Art History. Katherine spends her spare time writing, dancing and teaching other people’s dogs to ride skateboards. She lives in suburban Melbourne with Leonardo the borzoi, Oberon the Scottish deerhound and a legion of dog-fur dust bunnies. In 2012 she was longlisted for the Voiceless Writing Prize and in 2017 she was runner-up in the Australian Crime Writers’ Association’s S D Harvey Short Story Award. The Portrait of Molly Dean is her debut novel.
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Copyright © Katherine Kovacic 2018
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First published 2018
This ebook edition published 2018
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Page design, typesetting and ebook creation by Shaun Jury
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A catalogue entry for this book is available from the National Library of Australia
ISBN: 9781760409784 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781760409791 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781760409807 (mobi)
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