Review: The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O'Donnell

My Review: 

This book is absolutely amazing. I couldn't put it down. I savored every word, and it was even cooler since I have a lot of Irish in my blood, so I learned a lot from it. The way Patrick writes his letters is captivating. and wonderful... as a writer, it makes me so very happy. Having the cliffnotes alongside reading did a justice for me, and really helped with the context and helped me understand what was happening and what he was going through. I found my heart breaking for these people, especially Hanora, whom I loved dearly.

The ending was the best part, I think. It was... perfect in every way. This story is absolutely amazing. It's crazy to think about all the events that happen in your life, the ones that have led you to where you are now. How many more things will happen, and where will you land once they've played out?

I have a few quotes that I actually ended up highlighting becasue they struck a chord in me.

"I played the fool I suppose but they cannot hang me twice."

"One will climb over the dying body of another to profit themselves."

"The few benefits of being hanged I suppose is that I have the luxury of selecting my last thoughts."

There are plenty others, but I leave you with those. Ultimately, this book has quickly become one of my favorites.

5 stars.

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Summary:

History tells us that Patrick O’Donnell was hanged in Newgate prison on December 17th 1883 for the murder of James Carey, the infamous Phoenix Park killer and notorious Irish informer… History however tells us almost nothing of the man and his extraordinary life. Discover the truth about Patrick from the Great Hunger to the typhoid sheds of Quebec; from is service in the Louisiana 4th battalion of the Confederate army and capture at Chattanooga in 1863 and the O’Donnell murders at Wiggan’s Patch in Pennsylvanian; and finally to that fateful day on The Melrose off the cast of port Elizabeth where he put three bullets into Carey. Learn from his own words what really happened. Was he a British agent, hero of Ireland or something else altogether? The last days of this condemned man were spent recording his life in a series of letters which remained undiscovered for 133 years. Letters only recently uncovered and published for the first time herein.

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