IMPOSTOR’S LIFE STORY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2149, 13 July 1920, Page 4

IMPOSTOR’S LIFE STORY.

A WOMAN. OF MANY PARTS

AMAZING CAREER OF CRIME,

“The queen of adventuresses” has again been unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the police, and she and her daughter have just been sentenced to 15 months’ and nine months’ hard labour respectively for fraud, writes a London correspondent. There ax-e no women known to the police who have assumed so many aliases. In fact, the difficulty was to decide what are their real names. They have been convicted many times in the names of Roma Somerset and Maud Somerset. The history of the elder woman is a story of astounding audacity and .selfconfidence. A tall and beautiful woman, with a great charm of manner and brilliant conversation, she succeeded in convincing all with whom she came into contact that she xvas really highly born. As a matter of fact, she was of humble parentage. Her father’ was a Poole seaman. Hex’ maiden name was Alice Ada Fricker, and she was born in a small cottage in Cinnamon Lane, Poole, on October 22nd, 1871. But. she aspired to bigger things, and her restlessness and indifference caused considerable anxiety. When fourteen years of age she was a tall and pi’etty girl, and looked much older. About that time a medical student became infatuated with her, and they were married at Burton Regis. She gave her age as 1!). Her career of adventure dates from then.

Among the various names she had assumed fi’om time to time were: Lady Mercia Somerset, Avis Fit Sirov, Mrs Alice Rogers, Avis hitzroy Somerset, Mrs Reed, Mrs Reeves, Mrs A. Bolingbroke, Ida Rogers, and Mclia Rogers. Her modus operand! was to lake expensive houses, impress tradesmen with her position in society, and,obtain credit to a considerable extent. She was very fond of beautiful dresses, and had a passion foxjewellery. She had defrauded thousands of tradespeople.

Once she tried to “go straight, but it was not exciting enough. She tried t]ie stage, and played several parts, touring the provinces successfully. For a time she appeared in the title role in “Trilby.” Next she turned her hand to joux’nalism, and in 1910 sxxcceeded in gaining - admission to a prison and interviewing a condemned man. the governor of the prison imagined her to be the real Lady Somerset, and afterwards x’ealised how he had been imposed upon. She has served several terms of imprisonment. "While she was living at Chelmsford she was charged with assaulting a salesman with a hunting crop, and at Bourne End she set a bulldog on the bailiff. In 1917 she and her daughter were convicted at West London Police Court for illegally pawning articles, and "her. latest offences were for obtaining various sums of money by false pretences. She and her daughter persuaded the principal of a women’s settlement that they wexe stranded. Thinking their story true that they were titled ladies, she lent them money.

The elder woman’s husband is believed to have served in the wax-.