The Steam Catcher

by Jim O'Sullivan

Gloucester, 1915: Haunted by his father's madness, Tom Casey flees home after being falsely accused of murder. He survives the First World War and the Irish War for Independence. But survival demands a heavy price: the loss of his beloved family and everything he was raised to believe in. Now an amoral drifter caught up in the violent, seedy underworld of 1920s Europe, Tom falls under the spell of Matilde, a brilliant, beautiful bank robber. To find love, hope and a sense of belonging he must run again, fight and even kill.

The Steam Catcher draws on the proud, often overlooked history of the Irish community in Britain to examine how class and identity shapes and fractures our lives.

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Kathy E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story of Tom Casey’s tough but eventful life from a teenager in an Irish family in Gloucester though a despatch rider in WW1 in Egypt & Europe and his escapades after the war in Ireland, France & beyond, is filled with danger, excitement and poignancy. The characters are so well rounded that I felt I knew them and the historical detail was fascinating so I was entertained and educated at the same time.