PublishedHoughton Mifflin, September 2016 |
ISBN9780544272880 |
FormatHardcover, 384 pages |
Dimensions22.9cm × 15.2cm |
For immediate release AUSTRALIAN INTEREST From the National Book Award winning and best-selling author Timothy Egan comes the epic story of one of the most fascinating and colourful Irishmen in nineteenth-century America. The Irish-American story, with all its twists and triumphs, is told through the improbable life of one man.
A dashing young orator during the Great Famine of the 1840s, in which a million of his Irish countrymen died, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony. He escaped and six months later was heralded in the streets of New York the revolutionary hero, back from the dead, at the dawn of the great Irish immigration to America. Meagher's rebirth in America included his leading the newly formed Irish Brigade from New York in many of the fiercest battles of the Civil War Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg. Twice shot from his horse while leading charges, left for dead in the Virginia mud, Meagher's dream was that Irish-American troops, seasoned by war, would return to Ireland and liberate their homeland from British rule. The hero's last chapter, as territorial governor of Montana, was a romantic quest for a true home in the far frontier. His death has long been a mystery to which Egan brings haunting, colourful new evidence. AUTHOR: Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, a New York Times columnist, winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in nonfiction, and the author of seven books, most recently 'Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher'. His previous books include 'The Worst Hard Time', which won a National Book Award, and the national bestseller 'The Big Burn'. SELLING POINTS: Immediate release as Peribo has just been granted world rights Meagher was deported by the British from Ireland to Tasmania for his rebel activities during the Irish Famine. Excellent reviews Amazing research, by a National Book Award winning NYT columnist, about a true hero In the top five on the NYT best-seller list Over 50,000 copies sold to date and as reprinted 7 times since released in March REVIEWS: "This is marvelous stuff. Thomas F. Meagher strides onto Egan's beautifully wrought pages just as he lived powerfully larger than life. A fascinating account of an extraordinary life." Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat, Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics "A fascinating, well-told story by an author fully committed to his subject. Egan's impeccable research, uncomplicated readability, and flowing narrative reflect his deep knowledge of a difficult and complex man." Kirkus Reviews, starred review "As history, Egan's book is solid; as storytelling, it's captivating . . . An impressive biography." Publishers Weekly "Meagher lived life full-tilt, with old-fashioned honor as well as courage and dash, so inspiring Egan that the prose flashes and flares . . . " Booklist, starred review "Thomas Meagher's is an irresistible story, irresistibly retold by the virtuosic Timothy Egan . . . The author tells Meagher's exhilarating story with an Irishman's flair for the tragic, poetic and dramatic . . . A gripping, novelistic page-turner . Imperfect but irresistible, Meagher has long deserved a revival and reappraisal. For sure, he has a rousing one now." -- The Wall Street Journal "Stirring and magnificent . . . Egan combines deep reporting with masterful storytelling to chronicle this bigger-than-life figure." -- Dallas Morning News "Exhilarating . . . a rollicking, historical adventure story . . . You may not have heard the name Meagher, but after reading Egan's excellent biography, you'll never forget it." -- San Antonio Express News "An old-fashioned tale of tall talk, high ideals, and irresistible appeal . . .You will not read a historical thriller like this all year [Egan] is a master storyteller." -- The Boston Globe
