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The Catalpa Rescue

The Gripping Story of the Most Dramatic and Successful Prison Break in Australian History

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The Catalpa Rescue

By: Peter FitzSimons
Narrated by: Michael Carman
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About this listen

 The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in Australian history.

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.©2019 Peter FitzSimons (P)2019 Hachette Australia Audio Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Europe Oceania Social Sciences Australian History
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Again another brilliant book by Peter. Brilliantly delivered by the narrator. Bravo to you both.

Excellence in a book.

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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.

Good book, poor narrator

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A ripping yarn. A tale of heroes and heroism. A significant part of Irish history. Well done.

A ripping yarn

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Thanks for sharing the story in your inimitable way Peter. I'd never heard of it and it adds more to the fascinating history of WA, Freo and the Irish. Loved the narration.

A great story.

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Great story. Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Was an interesting part of Australian and Irish History that I'd never heard of before. Peter Fitzsimmons really makes you feel like you are there and part of the narrative. I was really rooting for the Fenians to successfully escape prison.

Captivating

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loved this book, should definitely make it into a movie. great performance by the narrator.

a movie in the making

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Fantastic. Must Read. What a find. So glad this amazing story has been now brought to my attention. Recommended.

Great

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Slow to start, but unputdownable at the end. Highly recommend putting in the effort. A truly amazing story.

Amazing story

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Peter FitzSimons has a way of bringing our history to life. This book is a bout a lesser known part of that history and is all the more important for that reason. The story is gripping and has the listener engrossed to the last line. Loved it !

Another fabulous window into Australian history

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this has to be the greatest prison break story of of all time. if your of Irish descent, West Australian or American you must discover this story.

the greatest prison break story of all time

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