![]() And it's all true." -Shawn Micallef, author of Frontier City This book is an essential piece of Canadian history that will change the way you think of Toronto. Katie Daubs's nimble storytelling takes us on a journey through Toronto's often cantankerous past, uncovering forgotten details while bringing a century-old mystery and the characters involved vividly back to life. ![]() "This is an exceptional work of deeply researched historical non-fiction. "Katie Daubs's spirited new book, The Missing Millionaire is less a lament for the unsolved mystery of a petty, philandering, Machiavellian middleman than it is a vivid social and physical portrait of rapidly evolving Toronto."- The Globe and Mail Delving into a crime story about the power of the elite, she vividly recounts the page-turning tale of a cold case that is truly stranger than fiction. But as the main players in the Small mystery died, they took their secrets to the grave, and Ambrose Small would be forever missing.ĭrawing on extensive research, newly discovered archival material, and her own interviews with the descendants of key figures, Katie Daubs offers a rich portrait of life in an evolving city in the early twentieth century. A series of trials exposed Small's tumultuous business and personal relationships, while allegations and confessions swirled. Daubs examines the characters who were connected to the case as the century carried on: Ambrose's religious wife, Theresa his long-time secretary, Jack Doughty his two unmarried sisters, Florence and Gertrude Patrick Sullivan, a lawless ex-policeman and Austin Mitchell, an overwhelmed detective. In The Missing Millionaire, Katie Daubs tells the story of the Small mystery, weaving together a gripping narrative with the social and cultural history of a city undergoing immense change. ![]() Everything about the sensational case would be called into question in the decades to come, including the motivations of his inner circle, his enemies, and the police who followed the trail across the continent, looking for answers in asylums, theatres, and the Pacific Northwest. As weeks turned to years, the disappearance became the most "extraordinary unsolved mystery" of its time. In December 1919, Ambrose Small, the mercurial owner of the Grand Opera House in Toronto, closed a deal to sell his network of Ontario theatres, deposited a million-dollar cheque in his bank account, and was never seen again.
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