From the first words of the first chapter, Lillian Alling, the journey home, is not an ordinary historical nonfiction book. It begins with a mystery and ends with a mystery, one that is unlikely to ever be solved.
This is the very aspect that intrigued Susan Smith-Josephy.
With a degree in history from Simon Fraser University and journalism from Langara College, sleuthing through historical records is what this local woman is trained to do.
Smith-Josephy was already immersed in researching her own family tree, however, when she first heard about the mysterious woman who covered much of Canada on foot in the difficult times of the 1920s and 1930s, she changed her course and began to unravel what was fact and what was legend about Lillian Alling.
“I kept digging for references to Lillian,” she said.
“And the thought ran through my mind I should write a book.”
Various books, epic poems, plays and even an opera have been created around the legendary Lillian Alling.
But every one of them begin with the mystery of her origins, nationality, early life and ultimately what ever happened to this determined woman.
“I wanted to base my book on the verifiable evidence of the real woman, but also include hearsay and tall tales,” Smith-Josephy said.
And there were plenty of those.
What is truth begins in Ontario where Lillian crossed over from New York state. With little money and no transportation, Alling surfaces in the wilds of B.C. in 1926. Purported to be on a journey to return home, little is known of her intentions and with few official records, her undaunted determination to cross the Bering Sea is the one constant.
For Smith-Josephy, the trail runs cold in the Alaskan town of Nome.
Despite exhaustive research, including hiring a Russian researcher which netted her nothing, Smith-Jospephy said it’s important to know when you’re done with a project.
Finding a publisher for her book also was a journey for the Quesnel author.
She began with a nonfiction proposal which she sent to 10 potential publishers.
Follow-up calls found Smith-Josephy talking to an editor at Caitlin Press who expressed genuine interest in her manuscript.
She kept writing, 1,000 words a day, no matter what.
After a group in Vancouver staged an opera loosely based on Lillian and an interview by the national newspaper the Globe and Mail, Smith-Josephy received the confirmation she needed from Caitlin Press, her book about Lillian would be published.
After that she said the most challenging aspect to completing her book was finding relevant photos.
Smith-Josephy covered thousands of miles researching Lillian, talking to people and piecing together the few years Lillian spent on her relentless trek to the Bering Sea. She discovered a precious few photographs of Lillian and other truths.
But much remained shrouded in mystery – a mystery possibly never to be solved.
“I like happy endings, so I like to think she made it, wherever that might be,” Smith-Josephy said.
As she began, Smith-Josephy still blogs about Lillian and would love to hear from anyone who might have more information about the intriguing Lillian Alling (not even her confirmed name.)
“Although I’m done with researching Lillian, I’d certainly love to hear any as yet undisclosed information on her.”
She can be reached through her blog www.susmithjosephy.com.
Smith-Josephy has turned her historical attention to another B.C. legend, Cataline who came to Canada in the 1850s and earned a reputation as one of the most colourful and charismatic supply-train characters of the Cariboo, Omineca and Yukon gold fields.
“It’s the mystery that intrigues me,” Smith-Josephy said.
“The mythological aspect of these people – what is it about them that raised their story to a folklore level.”
Lillian Alling: the journey home is available at Caryall Books and the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives or from the author.