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CON
Belfast 1843: O'Connell, the Liberator, is on the rise. The cry for repeal and independence is in the air. Sectarian violence is rampant in the streets. And in the shadows of a new industrial world, two brothers are running for their lives.
CON is a fierce collision with the brutal reality of exile and colony. It is history torn from the grip of the fierce, poetic, bristling with humour, and fired with raw hope. A book for lovers of literature, history, and stories inspired by the silenced and forgotten people of a turbulent past. CON is a poor man's voice demanding to be heard.
CON is a fierce collision with the brutal reality of exile and colony. It is history torn from the grip of the fierce, poetic, bristling with humour, and fired with raw hope. A book for lovers of literature, history, and stories inspired by the silenced and forgotten people of a turbulent past. CON is a poor man's voice demanding to be heard.
321 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2025
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 17, 2025
Brothers, Con and James, from Belfast, two lads transported to Van Diemen's Land for their crimes, face the harsh reality of separation from homeland, family and any chance of a happy future.
Through the authentic narration of what life in this harsh penal colony must have been like, Rob Donnelly has beautifully crafted this novel from painstaking research of his great, great grandfather, Cornelius Donnelly. Woven around the true events of 19th Century Tasmania, in particular of Con's life, is the fear, perseverance, courage, and familial love of a man as imagined by his own great, great grandson.
A delightful read and I look forward to a sequel to continue the story.
Through the authentic narration of what life in this harsh penal colony must have been like, Rob Donnelly has beautifully crafted this novel from painstaking research of his great, great grandfather, Cornelius Donnelly. Woven around the true events of 19th Century Tasmania, in particular of Con's life, is the fear, perseverance, courage, and familial love of a man as imagined by his own great, great grandson.
A delightful read and I look forward to a sequel to continue the story.
Displaying 1 of 1 review