Charlotte Gray - Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island Paradise

Toronto Daily Star (Page 3, Feb 11, 1938), courtesy Toronto Public Library.

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

www.harpercollins.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

Toronto, Ontario, M5H 4E3

www.harpercollins.ca

India

HarperCollins India

A 75, Sector 57

Noida

Uttar Pradesh 201 301

www.harpercollins.co.in

New Zealand

HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

Rosedale 0632

Auckland, New Zealand

www.harpercollins.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF, UK

www.harpercollins.co.uk

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

195 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

www.harpercollins.com

A s I mention in the text, there are very few Oakes papers available to researchers; Harry Oakes does not appear to have been a man either given to much reflection or interested in committing himself to paper. I did not speak to anybody who had known him personally, but I did talk with several people who knew his story well and were vividly aware of both his achievements and the impression he made on others at different stages in his colourful life... and death.

KIRKLAND LAKE

Reconstructing Harry Oakess mining career in Northern Ontario, and understanding the evolution of Kirkland Lake, would have been impossible without the help of several residents, past and present, of the area. I am particularly grateful to Carolyn ONeil, Tom Wright, Janet Christie-Seeley, Roger Dufresne, and Marion Botsford Fraser. Kaitlyn McKay, manager of the Museum of Northern History, and the staff at KLs Teck Library went out of their way to provide me with resources. Ralph Deline generously shared with me his thesis on the growth of Kirkland Lake. I am also grateful to Dr. Christopher Armstrong, Stan Sudol, Joseph Martin, and Jonathan McQuarrie for their information on the development of Ontarios mining industry and issues concerning the threat of taxes that drove Harry Oakes out of the country. Thanks to Jamie Benidickson for information about Chief Tonen and the Beaver House Lake Band.

NIAGARA FALLS

Sherman Zavitz, the official historian of Niagara Falls, gave me an excellent tour of the city; Suzanne Moase, curator at the City of Niagara Falls Museum, showed me its Oakes material and put me in touch with a former Oakes employee; Cathy Roy at the Niagara Falls Public Library brought to my attention material about the Oakes family and Niagara Falls in the 1930s. I am particularly grateful to Jim Hill and David Adames at the Niagara Parks Commission, who showed me around Oak Hall, which now houses the commission, and discussed the continuing importance of Oakess business ventures in the city.

BAHAMAS

Many thanks to Patrice M. Williams and the staff at the Department of the Archives, Nassau, Bahamas, for assistance with clippings, books, court records, and photographs. I would also like to thank Dr. Gail Saunders at the University of the Bahamas.

There are several others who enriched my research. In the US, Lawson Hunter and Bill Fox introduced me to Palm Beach opulence. In England, Judith Jawad, current owner of Oak Hall in Sussex, was as intrigued as I was to find out who had visited the Oakes family there. (Sadly, we did not locate a visitors book.) In London, Patricia Potts walked up and down Kensington Palace Gardens with me, identifying which gracious mansion had belonged to Oakes. I am particularly grateful to William Boyd, who discussed the Oakes case at length with me over coffee at the legendary Groucho Club, sharing his own experiences and conclusions.

T HERE ARE MANY others to whom I owe thanks: Jane Lagesse and Margot Gualtieri, for copies of Alfred de Marignys contradictory memoirs; Ralph Deline, for sending me a copy of his research paper; Mark Bourrie, for providing information about William Wright; staff at the Bodleian Library for assistance with Sir Joseph Balls papers; staff at the House of Lords Archives for assistance with Lord Beaverbrooks papers; the ever-helpful librarians and archivists at Library and Archives Canada; friends who asked penetrating questions about the Harry Oakes case, including Wendy Bryans, Maureen Boyd, Judith Moses, Cathy Beehan, Julie Jacobson, and Jane Clark. As usual, Dr. Sandy Campbell and Dr. Duncan McDowall were the most careful and helpful readers that any nonfiction writer could ask for.

Frances Middleton, Anna Kuntz, and my three sons, Alexander, Nicholas, and Oliver, gave me endless encouragement (a special thanks to Anna for technical support!). My greatest debt of thanks goes to my husband, George Anderson, who accompanied me on research trips to Kirkland Lake, Nassau, Miami, Sussex, London, and Oxford, helped me sort out financial details, and was generous with time and good advice.

As usual, my agent, Hilary McMahon at WCA, has been helpful, available, and supportive at every stage of the process. At HarperCollins Canada, I enjoyed working with a remarkable team led by my editor, Jennifer Lambert, and including Stephanie Conklin, Victoria Ryk, Lloyd Davis, Camilla Blakeley, Mary Rostad, and Mike Millar.

Finally, I am grateful to the Office of Cultural Affairs in the City of Ottawa and to the Canada Council for financial assistance and for their steadfast support of creators in my hometown and in my country. Their commitment to writers and readers is invaluable, and underlines their larger commitment to a crucial priority: Canadian storytelling within a global literary community.

Mrs. King: The Life & Times of Isabel Mackenzie King

Sisters in the Wilderness: The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill

Flint and Feather: The Life and Times of E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake

Canada: A Portrait in Letters

The Museum Called Canada

Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell

Nellie McClung: Extraordinary Canadians Series

Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike

The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master, and the Trial That Shocked a Country

The Promise of Canada: 150 YearsPeople and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country

CHARLOTTE GRAY is one of Canadas best-known writers and the author of ten acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. Her most recent bestseller is The Promise of Canada: 150 YearsPeople and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country. Her bestseller The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master, and the Trial That Shocked a Country was the winner of the Toronto Book Award, the Heritage Toronto Book Award, the Canadian Authors Association Lela Common Award for Canadian History, and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book; a finalist for the RBC Taylor Prize; and a Globe and Mail and Amazon.ca best book of the year. Charlotte Gray is a Member of the Order of Canada, an adjunct research professor at Carleton University, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at harpercollins.ca.

Armstrong, Christopher. Blue Skies and Boiler Rooms: Buying and Selling Securities in Canada, 18701940. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.

Barnes, Michael. Gold in Kirkland Lake. Renfrew, ON: General Store Publishing House, 2011.