Local author highlights historic Vancouver Island adventurer in new novel

The name Aloha Wanderwell may not be a familiar one to many these days, but in the early 1900s her case was talked about all over the world.

Now, a Victoria author is looking to change that.

Over the years, the female adventurer’s story has gradually left the mainstream and the public has heard less and less about her.

Laurel Corona, author of Aloha Wanderwell Takes the Wheel,  is now putting the spotlight on an  incredible woman, who spent many of her formative years right here on Vancouver Island.

Corona was born in San Diego, but moved to Victoria six years ago, and has loved the area ever since.

She said that after learning about Aloha from local historian John Adams (whom she called “Mr. Victoria”), she felt compelled to write about a figure that came from this small corner of the world.

Corona is the author of four books before this one and took a decade-long break from writing before coming back with her newest novel.

She thought she had written her last book, but said she had no choice when she learned about Aloha Wanderwell.

“I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil,” Corona told Victoria Buzz.

“My big thing is women whose stories have been forgotten, and when I run into a woman that is just incredibly compelling, I have to go through this thing about do I want to spend the next two years of my life writing a book about it. Aloha made me write this book.”

Aloha is indeed an interesting case. With roots on Vancouver Island, her story is an incredible one, with adventure and mystery a plenty, making her the perfect figure for historical fiction.

“She was born in Winnipeg, but her family moved when she was very young to Qualicum Beach,” Corona said.

“Her mother went off to Europe because her father had been injured in World War I, so she was left in a boarding school in Victoria. She actually lived here for three years. We think probably at St. Anne’s, but we’re not sure.”

Her beginnings set her up for a life of adventure, and Wanderwell took the opportunities presented to her in stride.

“By the time she left her boarding school at 13, she knew how to roll her own cigarettes, she was sneaking out to see Mary Pickford movies and she even knew how to drive because her uncle had a car,” Corona explained.

“When the war was over, she went off to her mother who was in Belgium at the time.”

Wanderwell knew how to get herself into trouble. Her mother sent her to another boarding school in Belgium, where she was expelled for punching Mother Superior in the face.

An act that may have been justified.

“Mother Superior had stolen her diary and read it,” laughed Corona.

“There were stories in it about nuns who had affairs with each other, with the priests who came in and the girls who ran away from convents and were much happier.”

Eventually, after being sent to a different boarding school in Nice, France, Aloha read an advertisement in the paper from Walter Wanderwell, who was doing an around-the-world expedition by car and was looking for a woman to join him and take care of some of the more administrative and domestic tasks.

Most of the world hadn’t ridden or even seen a car by then, so the opportunity stood out.

After travelling through Russia, Malaysia, South America and beyond in a Model T, Aloha eventually married her fellow adventurer, and they took to the seas to continue their travels.

“One night, while Aloha’s not there, a local comes onboard and murders Walter,” Corona explained.

Without spoiling too much, Aloha’s adventures lead her on to international fame—and perhaps even infamy.

What may have started in a small town on Vancouver Island was propelled to news stories all over the world, granting the name “Wanderwell” and international reputation, for better or for worse.

Corona’s novel tells the story of this adventure, adding life to the archives and reports that she collected for this book.

To read more about Aloha Wanderwell Takes the Wheel and Corona’s other fiction, visit her website here. The book is also available in several bookstores in Victoria, including Russell Books on Fort Street.