A fast paced murder mystery set in County Roscommon that gives an amazingly accurate picture of Ireland in 1847 during the worst years of the famine.
Handsome and roguish, 'Irish Jack' Spellman is a ganger on the railways whose leadership of his team of Irish navvies is essential for the completion of the West Coast Line from England to Scotland. On a visit to his home in Ireland, Jack is arrested for the murder of his landlord. A swift trial and execution seem likely until Grace Savage, a beautiful admirer throws herself on the mercy of Jack's boss, railway builder, Joseph Locke.
Locke is seduced by Grace into going to Ireland and using his influence to ensure that Jack receives a fair trial. Locke's infatuation with Jack's wife, Bridget, adds to his determination to free the accused man. Once in Ireland, the suffering caused by the famine and the lack of response to it by the British governmant appal Locke. He travels to the remote area in Roscommon where the landlord was killed to find out the facts for himself. Once there he has to confront his own prejudices against the Irish.
He finds that In Ireland nothing is quite what it seems. Hidden forces are working for a violent end to the Union with England. They do not welcome Locke's intervention even if it is to free an unjustly accused man. He also faces opposition from the propertied and legal establishment in Ireland.
As well as the famine and the suffering it causes the novel also addresses the difficulties of railway building over the roughest terrain in England, the rivalry between Joseph Locke and his competitors Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdon Brunel, and the mistaken nineteenth century theory that TYPHUS was spread by an invisible gas called MIASMA.
The author frames the narrative as a newly discovered memoir of Joseph Locke. In actuality there is a "lost" personal memoir by Joseph Locke possibly lost because it contains details of Locke's love life which his straight laced relatives thought were best forgotten.
Frank Lean has previously published seven novels about Manchester Private Eye, Dave Cunane, that are available on Amazon. Frank Lean's crime fiction has received critical acclaim and he was a runner up for the Golden Dagger award of the Crime Writers Association of Britain.
Genre: Historical
Handsome and roguish, 'Irish Jack' Spellman is a ganger on the railways whose leadership of his team of Irish navvies is essential for the completion of the West Coast Line from England to Scotland. On a visit to his home in Ireland, Jack is arrested for the murder of his landlord. A swift trial and execution seem likely until Grace Savage, a beautiful admirer throws herself on the mercy of Jack's boss, railway builder, Joseph Locke.
Locke is seduced by Grace into going to Ireland and using his influence to ensure that Jack receives a fair trial. Locke's infatuation with Jack's wife, Bridget, adds to his determination to free the accused man. Once in Ireland, the suffering caused by the famine and the lack of response to it by the British governmant appal Locke. He travels to the remote area in Roscommon where the landlord was killed to find out the facts for himself. Once there he has to confront his own prejudices against the Irish.
He finds that In Ireland nothing is quite what it seems. Hidden forces are working for a violent end to the Union with England. They do not welcome Locke's intervention even if it is to free an unjustly accused man. He also faces opposition from the propertied and legal establishment in Ireland.
As well as the famine and the suffering it causes the novel also addresses the difficulties of railway building over the roughest terrain in England, the rivalry between Joseph Locke and his competitors Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdon Brunel, and the mistaken nineteenth century theory that TYPHUS was spread by an invisible gas called MIASMA.
The author frames the narrative as a newly discovered memoir of Joseph Locke. In actuality there is a "lost" personal memoir by Joseph Locke possibly lost because it contains details of Locke's love life which his straight laced relatives thought were best forgotten.
Frank Lean has previously published seven novels about Manchester Private Eye, Dave Cunane, that are available on Amazon. Frank Lean's crime fiction has received critical acclaim and he was a runner up for the Golden Dagger award of the Crime Writers Association of Britain.
Genre: Historical
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