The Illusion of Murder (48 page)

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Nellie lied about her age to maintain a “girl reporter” image. She was actually twenty-one when she left the factory for a reporter’s job. She was twenty-five years old in 1889. Leaving school because of a “heart condition” was also a fib. She left school to work because her widowed mother could not afford to keep her in high school. —The Editors

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Nellie also wrote a book in 1887 called
Ten Days in a Madhouse
about the exposé that brought attention to the terrible conditions in the women’s asylum. Her experiences in the madhouse ultimately led her to Paris and the events told in
The Alchemy of Murder
. —The Editors

†
Veils were in fashion and also commonly used to hold ladies’ hats in place. Ruchings were lace trim on collars and sleeves that could be taken off and washed. —The Editors

‡
Two hundred British pounds equaled U.S. $1,000, the equivalent of about U.S. $25,000 today. Not an excessive amount to take considering that she had to pay for all her accommodations and transportation for nearly three months en route and this was an age before credit cards and ATMs. —The Editors

§
Not buying tickets for the entire trip was a good decision because she missed the mail boat in London and instead crossed the English Channel to Boulogne, traveled across France and down the boot of Italy to Brindisi by rail and carriage, where she boarded the steamship
Victoria
for Port Said. —The Editors

*
Mrs. Winchester kept the house under continuous construction for the last thirty-eight years of her life, from 1884 to 1922. Once seven stories high, it was damaged in the great earthquake of 1906 and is now only four stories, with 160 rooms, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 panes of glass. The number 13 appears in various motifs around the house. —The Editors

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In 1935, a French archaeologist unsealed a Tanis tomb overlooked by looters and discovered treasures that rival those of King Tut. On a lighter note, Tanis is the city where the Ark of the Covenant was found in the first Indiana Jones movie. —The Editors

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Frederick Selous was more famous to Victorians than Nellie. The most notable African explorer and big-game hunter in an era in which such men were admired as the epitome of manhood, Selous was the inspiration for H. Rider Haggard’s hero in
King Solomon’s Mines
, which inspired more than a century of books and movies about adventures and the search for ancient treasures, including the Indiana Jones movies. —The Editors

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Nellie went to Mexico during a violent era of revolution and banditry and left after receiving a message that her life was in danger if she wrote any more exposés about conditions in the country. After she became famous, she wrote about her experiences in a book entitled
Six Months in Mexico
. —The Editors

†
Nellie is too inhibited to reveal the substance used for invisible ink by Sarah’s lover, but a clue can be found in the story of Sir George Smith-Cumming, who entered British Intelligence in Victorian times and was the model for intelligence chief “M” in the James Bond stories. Smith-Cumming had his men use semen for invisible ink. —The Editors

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A lantern slide show was an early form of slide projection. The slides were glass plates upon which pictures were painted. The slide could tell a story or show exhibits of art, history, etc. Over time, a technique was developed to use transparent photos and the modern slide projector came into being. —The Editors

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Sarah is forty-five years old, but looks younger and lies about her age. As stated earlier, Nellie also lies about her age, claiming to be twenty-two but has taken three years off her age to create a “girl reporter” image. She was twenty-five when she made her trip around the world. —The Editors

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Nellie was taught to shoot by Annie Oakley when Nellie participated in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Both women were five feet tall and lied about their ages to keep a “girl” image. Annie performed for Queen Victoria and other royalty; at the Prince of Prussia’s request, she shot the ashes off a cigarette held by him. An interesting slant on her aim that day is that had she missed and hit the prince, World War I might have been avoided because he became Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. —The Editors

*
The woman is Elizabeth Bisland, who had worked at the
World
and became an editor at
Cosmopolitan
. When
Cosmopolitan
’s publisher heard about Nellie’s trip, he sent Bisland with only hours’ notice around the world travelling in the opposite direction, certain that the west-to-east route would beat Nellie’s time. Nellie relates how she learned of the “race” in Hong Kong but never mentions Bisland’s name in
Around the World in 72 Days
. —The Editors

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Ah Cum was the name of Nellie’s guide in her book
Around the World in 72 Days.
 —The Editors

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“Alley Sloper” was Victorian slang for a person who snuck out when the landlord came to collect the rent and sloped down an alley to sneak away. —The Editors

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Cameras used “glass plates” coated with a chemical to take pictures. —The Editors

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Nellie once went undercover as a servant girl to expose the abuse of employers. —The Editors

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Frederick Selous is obviously referring to Queen Victoria. The reference to a death blow from “another Nellie” is dealt with in an historical note later because Nellie never explained it in her journal. —The Editors