Intrigues and mysteries - the unanswered questions
This article deals mostly with the holes in my research that give me grief when I'm trying to shape the plot for our new musical . I don't like "making stuff up" about people from history - I prefer to do a truckload of research, then write the characters according to the most reasonable assumptions based on the evidence. A lot of people argue that this is not a good way to write, and that a scriptwriter should be more free and easy with the facts, but I've found that whenever I stray too far from the truth, the characters bite me in the bum.
So, with that said, what do we make of the following tidbits that were thrown up during my research? Anyone with particular information is welcome to contact me. I'm sorry I've disabled the comments, but I was getting too much unsavoury stuff. But if you really want to have a dialogue, please do contact me directly!
The mystery of Dr Booth: good bloke or evil drunk?
Dr Booth, Lilian Cooper's much maligned employer. I was very excited to find this portrait in Trove Archives.
Right-oh, let's start with Dr Booth. Just who is he? How do I write him? Was he a good bloke or an evil drunk?
Dr James Booth is an Aussie-born doctor who campaigned to have Lilian Cooper brought out from London to Brisbane, Australia as he, and many of the women of Brisbane, were keen to have a female doctor around. Dr Booth is represented in history books as drunk, but I can't find out where this rumour started. If anyone knows, please contact me. He is also represented as a bit of a misogynistic prick who only invited Dr Cooper to Australia for a laugh, but my research shows we can lay this one to rest (see 1891: Lilian's first year in Australia).
Let's start with this inquiry into Dr Booth by noting all the amazing things he did. I think this body of evidence proves that Dr Booth was no one-dimensional villain, as the history books would have us believe.
- He loved Australia, and he loved being Australian.
- He loved Aussie literature.
- He was a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty - too many articles too reference. Here's just one. He also set up branches of the society in Townsville and Charters Towers.
- He wanted better conditions for bakers and travelled the state to identify labour issues.
- And finally, he was instrumental in securing Lilian Cooper, Queensland's first female doctor.
Lilian and Josephine lived with Dr Booth and his wife for several months, and then moved literally just up the road. If there were problems between Lilian and Booth, surely she would have moved further away...?
OK, so here's the bad stuff I can find out Dr Booth.
Did he kill a patient out of spite?
In 1890 (the year before Lilian came to work with him) he was accused of conspiring with a nurse to kill a patient out of spite (sort of). It seems Dr Booth was looking after a young woman and then, the day after he was taken off the case, the woman died. There's a strange bit of business about Dr Booth squirreling away some ether under his coat, and for a moment I thought, "Hmmm - ether addict"? (A lot of doctors were addicted to ether and morphine.) But the more I look at it, the more I think it's just a normal situation of a bereft family looking to blame the doctor.
This is the document - you can read it for yourself.
Did he cheat on his wife?
In 1890, a man knocked on Dr Booth's door and asks him to look after his sick wife, Amy Coventry. He told Dr Booth he can't afford to pay him, but he'll pay him in the future. Dr Booth then visits the sick woman 51 times in four months, which is about every second day. The next year, Dr Cooper comes to work with Dr Booth, and she also visits the sick woman.
Then, in 1893, a court case erupts. Dr Booth demands payment for all those visits. Amy Coventry swears that Dr Booth wasn't visiting her because she was sick, but to discuss her literary work.
Dr Lilian Cooper is called as a witness, and she sides with Amy Coventry, saying that Dr Booth told her not to worry about charging Amy for any visits.
If Amy Coventry is telling the truth, a suspicious mind would wonder about a married man visiting a married woman every second day for four months to discuss her 'literary work'. What do you think? Here's the article below.
This court case fascinates me because the events discussed took place during Lilian's first year in Brisbane. What did Lilian think of Dr Booth not charging Amy Coventry for services? Who is telling the truth: Dr Booth or Amy Coventry?
The fact that Lilian sided with Amy during this court case may lead one to believe that there was no love lost between Lilian and Dr Booth. Or was Lilian just telling the truth...?
The Mystery of Amy Coventry: a journo with a soft spot for Lilian and Jo?
Staff at a newspaper in Brisbane, 1895. (John Oxley Library, negative number 111703 )
So who was this Amy Coventry that Dr Booth visited every second day for several months?
She was a journalist on several newspapers, often working as the social editor. Why is that important? Because I can't help but wonder that Amy Coventry's kind coverage of Lilian Cooper and Josephine Bedford helped their acceptance in the Brisbane community. It's just a theory I have (more evidence in regard to this below).
Let's start with when Lilian first meets Amy. Lilian is working as an 'assistant' to Dr Booth while attending Amy and her kids in 1891. Then, when Lilian leaves Dr Booth's employment, she continues as Amy's doctor.
In 1892, Amy met with an unfortunate accident. Amy was at the building now known in Brisbane as "The Old Museum" when a window fell out of the roof and crushed her leg. Amy was laid up for several months, and was unable to fulfil her role as a social journalist. Dr Cooper looked after her during this time.
Now known as "The Old Museum", this beautiful building still stands in Brisbane today.
The clincher for me was that I discovered that in 1895 Lilian and Amy put up the money to help Amy's hubby run a goldmine. Lilian bought several shares in the mine. (I found this in the records for an old court case.)
So think I can safely say that Lilian and Amy had a long-term, solid friendship. This of course may be false, but as a writer, at some stage I have to make assumptions based on the evidence I have in order to move forward with the script. And I think I'm confident in saying that they were mates.
Did Amy help Lilian and Jo gain social status?
So IF they were mates, and GIVEN that Amy was writing the social pages of the Brisbane Courier, was Amy responsible for the gorgeous thing that starts happening the newspapers? Things like this for example:
Just like Dr and Mrs![Brisbane Courier]
But the media love doesn't stop there. Lilian and Jo barely have to breathe, and the newspapers are all over it.
1894, The Queenslander
1895, Brisbane Courier
And so I can't help but wonder whether Amy Coventry was quietly working behind the scenes to give social acceptance to Lilian and Jo. Will we ever know for sure? No, not for sure. But I think it's enough to warrant exploring Amy Coventry's life a little more deeply.
Delve into more Lilian Cooper research.
