Mary Fortune (circa 1833 - circa 1910) was a prolific writer of the Victorian era, celebrated for her detective and mystery stories. Though born in Dublin, Ireland, she spent a significant portion of her life in Australia, where she was known for her contributions to early Australian literature. Writing under the pseudonym 'Waif Wander' or 'W.W.', Fortune penned a vast body of work that often featured crime and detective elements, including 'The White Maniac: A Doctor's Tale' which remained one of her more well-known tales. Her literary style was advanced for her time, featuring complex plots and psychological depth in her characters. Notably, Fortune's series 'The Detective's Album', which ran for forty years in the 'Australian Journal', is one of the first examples of detective fiction serials, predating even Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. Despite her pioneering work, Mary Fortune's contributions were largely unrecognized until recent years, with her identity remaining a mystery for much of her career, possibly due to the male-dominated publishing industry. Although not celebrated in her time, Mary Fortune has since been acknowledged for her significant role in shaping the detective and mystery genre. Her stories, fraught with intrigue and suspense, provide a window into the colonial Australian setting, offering readers both engaging narratives and a historical perspective.