Parlor Games A Novel

DISPATCH



1918



Worry not, dear reader, for in the contest of wits and wiles, I have bested the Pinkertons. Dougherty will never find me here, comfortably tucked away in the hilltop home of a British expatriate in Hong Kong. My new patron, Mr. Templeton, has shown the utmost respect for my tender state of widowhood. He does not press me on the matter of marriage, nor will he allow me to exhaust my limited assets while I battle my stepson over my husband’s estate. He doesn’t even mind that I sometimes moon over the photograph of my late husband as a young man—the picture I’ve saved all these years of Johnny.

Hong Kong is an agreeable and befitting place for a woman of my circumstances to settle. I pass my days reading and managing the house servants, and my evenings strolling Hong Kong’s corridors with Mr. Templeton. In fact, there’s not a reason in the world it would ever occur to anyone here that Mrs. Maude Jackson, a demure widow seeking a peaceful place to mourn her departed, loving husband, was once considered the most dangerous woman in the world.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS



This novel is inspired by the true story of May Dugas, whose exploits were reported in a pamphlet authored by Lloyd Wendt, Life of May Dugas of Menominee. Little documentation of May’s life exists outside of Wendt’s (not always accurate) account and newspaper stories about her.

Although this is a work of fiction, numerous key events and the many travels recounted in this book did take place—for instance, May’s encounters with a Pinkerton detective and her marriage to a Dutch baron, though the timeline is sometimes altered for narrative flow. Many other events and some of the settings are fabrications, albeit invented with the intent of capturing the spirit and adventures of this fascinating woman. Also, the names of some whom she encountered, including the Baron, have been changed for the sake of discretion.

I would like to thank some of the many people who assisted and supported me on this project: for her wisdom and sure guiding hand, Jessica Morrell; Bill Brooks for believing in me all these years; for her spot-on and inspiring critiques, Cynthia Whitcomb; the wonderful women in my writing group for teaching me so much about writing—Kimberly Gadette, Joyce Lekas, Darlene Pagan, Kathlene Postma, and Naseem Rakha; for assistance obtaining newspaper accounts of the 1917 trial, Amber Allard of Spies County Library; Elsa Ramo, for her legal advice; and Menominee-area resident Janet Callow, eminent expert on the life of May Dugas, for sharing her research. Special thanks go out to my dynamite agent, Stephanie Cabot, her terrific assistant, Anna Worrall, and my most amiable and excellent editor at Doubleday, Melissa Danaczko. I must recognize my life partner, Deborah Zita, researcher extraordinaire, who unearthed innumerable details for this novel. I am grateful to her for gracefully enduring my own writing adventures and misadventures over the years.





BIBLIOGRAPHY AND RESOURCES



Abbott, Karen. Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle for American’s Soul. New York: Random House, 2007.

“Amazing Romance, An,” Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, March 24, 1914: 2.

“American’s Suit Against Baroness,” New York Times, January 21, 1914.

Asbury, Herbert. The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1933.

——. The Gangs of Chicago. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1940/1986.

“Baroness Accused of $125,000 Swindle,” New York Times, January 10, 1917.

“Baroness Answers Charges of Fraud,” New York Times, January 13, 1917.

“Baroness Collapses,” New York Times, January 22, 1914.

“Baroness Sued: Is Ill Here,” New York Times, June 11, 1913.

“Black Pearl Case Settled,” New York Times, February 2, 1912.

Callow, Janet. “Baroness May de Pallandt van Eerde.” Presentation for the Upper Peninsula Michigan History Conference, Menonimee, Mich., June 2010.

Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 1900/2005.

Fielding, Henry. Tom Jones. New York: Fine Creative Media, Inc., 1749/2004.

“J. D. Kilpatrick’s Suicide,” New York Times, September 22, 1903: 14.

Kendall, Todd D. “Carrie Watson—Come In, Gentlemen.” Chicago Crime Scenes Project. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from http://chicagocrimescenes.blogspot.com/2009/01/carrie-watson-come-in-gentlemen.html.

“Kilpatrick Death Mystery,” New York Times, September 23, 1903: 14.

McCormick, Donald. Peddler of Death: The Life and Times of Sir Basil Zaharoff. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965.

McLaren, Angus. Sexual Blackmail: A Modern History. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Library, 2002.

Menominee Herald-Leader. Numerous articles from issues dated October, 3, 1903; September 16, 1916; January 20–February 3, 1917; May 8–12, 1917; June 11, 1917; July 25, 1917; August 1–8, 1917.

Nelson, Donald R. “Former Bordello Steeped in Local Lore,” Portland Tribune, September 28, 2001.

“Pallandt Suit Settled,” New York Times, April 23, 1914.

Sawyer, Alvah L. A History of the Northern Peninsula of Michigan and Its People. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1911.

Seagraves, Anne. Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early West. Hayden, Idaho: Wesanne Publications, 1994.

“Sues on Gift to Baroness,” New York Times, January 14, 1914.

“Suit over $15,000 Brooch,” New York Times, February 1, 1912.

“Value of Black Pearls,” New York Times, February 18, 1912.

Wendt, Lloyd. Life of May Dugas of Menominee. Menominee, Mich.: Menominee County Research Center, n.d.





About the Author


Maryka Biaggio, a former psychology professor, has many scholarly publishing credits to her name, but Parlor Games is her debut novel. Maryka now splits her time between creative writing and higher-education consulting work. She travels extensively, for both work and pleasure, is crazy about opera, and enjoys gardening, art films, and, of course, great fiction. She lives in Portland, Oregon, that edgy green gem of the Pacific Northwest.

Visit: www.marykabiaggio.com

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