A Man of Honour
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 32 ratings, 6 reviews)Read More
Found a better price? Request a price match
A Man of Honour
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
'I deserve to hang. I did this deed. No doubt about that. I had my reasons, though, and not the ones people believe.'
One fine March day in 1868, gunshots rang out at a society charity event in Sydney's harbourside suburb of Clontarf. In the aftermath, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh – son of Queen Victoria – lay close to death, while the assembled crowd seized and beat his attacker, Irish-born Henry James O'Farrell. Who was this character who began the day a complete unknown and ended it as the young colony's most hated man?
A Man of Honour is a richly textured, lyrical reimagining of O'Farrell's life, before and after the would-be assassination. Simon Smith paints a portrait of a very modern anti-hero: a man whose love for his family, his God, his birth country and his Fenian brotherhood is strong, but whose life is ultimately skewed by illness and by the cruelty of some of those closest to him.
Drawing on contemporary newspaper accounts and on O'Farrell's actual words as revealed in gaol-cell interviews, court transcripts and his own writings, Smith asks: What makes a charming, sensitive and erudite man want to arm himself and shoot the son of the world's most powerful ruler? Is he a terrorist, a patriot, a hero?
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781760687854
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 07 February 2023
Country: Australia
Imprint: Echo Publishing
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 153.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 472g
Collections
About the Author
Simon Smith is a respected cinematographer who has spent the last four decades shooting documentaries for Australian TV and film. He has been privileged to hear and record the stories of First Nations communities, survivors of the atom bomb and the genocide of Cambodia, soldiers and artists and thinkers of all kinds the world over. With his camera, he has travelled all over Australia, China, Japan, Indonesia, PNG and Vanuatu, North America and Europe.
'Someone in our family shot a prince' was a story told to Simon by his mother when he was a young boy. It thrilled him then, and thrilled him again when he stumbled on it, in magical ways, almost a decade ago. He knew he had to find out more, and tell the world.
Simon plunged into researching the facts behind the family story. Then he began to write. The result is his first novel: A Man of Honour. Simon lives with his partner Ron, and their beloved cat Danny Boy, on Gadigal Land at Darlinghurst - only 100 metres from where his relative, Henry James O'Farrell, was incarcerated, tried and executed.
Also by Simon Smith
View allMore from Historical Fiction
View allWhy buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
