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The Catalpa Rescue
- The Gripping Story of the Most Dramatic and Successful Prison Break in Australian History
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
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The Catalpa Rescue
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Publisher's Summary
New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael - agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as a 'living tomb'. What follows is one of history's most stirring sagas that splices Irish, American, British and Australian history together in its climactic moment.
For Ireland, who had suffered English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War; for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great Britain was not unbeatable.
Told with FitzSimons' trademark combination of arresting history and storytelling verve, The Catalpa Rescue is a tale of courage and cunning, the fight for independence and the triumph of good men, against all odds.
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What listeners say about The Catalpa Rescue
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- E G
- 04-01-2021
Good book, poor narrator
The book, is fascinating, but the narrator couldn't do an Irish accent to save his life. All of his Irish accents, no matter where on the island of Ireland the protagonists hail from, seem to be loosely based on the accent of Gerry Adams, although an extremely poor version of that. Not only this, but his other accents of characters from England, Scotland and the US are also poor. I am astonished this wasn't picked up in the editing process and an alternative actor used. Unfortunately, this is the same narrator which is used in the Burke and Wills book as well. I would therefore recommend you only purchase a physical copy of the book and do NOT download the audio book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Graham
- 26-03-2021
A ripping yarn
A ripping yarn. A tale of heroes and heroism. A significant part of Irish history. Well done.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bob McAullay
- 29-05-2019
Excellence in a book.
Again another brilliant book by Peter. Brilliantly delivered by the narrator. Bravo to you both.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Niall Cunniffe
- 22-05-2019
Great Story, however
It great story, and it shocks me how few Australians know it.
The story is told in fast paced interesting fashion, however it's somewhat of a rose tinted glasses view of the history but I don't teally have problem with that type of storytelling method.
The only real issue I have is the reader problem of mispronouncing irish people names or place name, this is always distracting but it's also painfully to listen to as Irish born Australian.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ray Farrell
- 11-07-2019
Much more than the story of the Catalpa rescue
irish listeners would find the Irish accent, which was such a big part of the story, very un Irish. the narrator should have known that Irish person and place names are a minefield. He stepped on many mines. That said, his narration was excellent.
Mr Fitzsimons and his research team have excelled themselves. it is a book worthy of a place in any school library in Australia, America or Ireland under the section "History".
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Damo JP
- 10-06-2019
Catalpa - amazing presentation
Excellent and well worth a listen , well presented and engaging, perhaps checking pronunciation of place names would be beneficial
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 29-06-2020
Wonderful yarn beautifully performed.
Beautifully narrated and very vividly written. A very little know part of Australian hostory which must be told
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenn Y
- 14-08-2022
Astonishing
This audiobook will stay with you long after it has finished. The narration is excellent, the story unbelievable and I still want to listen to it again to recapture those small details.
It captures the turbulent history in the 1800's in the quiet backwater of the Swan Colony, and the most amazing attempted escape of political prisoners.
The quality of Peter Fitzsimons' research and skilled storytelling makes for much pleasure in listening.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Paulo D
- 28-12-2023
The British education system never taught us this in school
Amazing history of Australia that was never mentioned in our Australian history classes as it was so embarrassing for the British. Being of Irish ancestry myself I never knew how long and deadly a struggle the Irish Republic has had against the Brits.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob Aughey
- 20-08-2019
How did I not k ow this story?
Wow, I am embarrassed to say I knew nothing of this grand story. A sad indictment on my history teachers perhaps? As a seventh generation Australian of Irish descent - it has been a privilege to learn about these heroes.
Bravo Peter Fitz - your finest book yet!
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2 people found this helpful