The Immortal Irishman

The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero

Timothy Egan

2016-03-01

In the New York Times bestseller The Immortal Irishman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Timothy Egan illuminates the dawn of the great Irish American story, with all its twists and triumphs, through the life of one heroic man.

A dashing young orator during the Great Hunger of the 1840s, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony for life. But two years later he was "back from the dead" and in New York, instantly the most famous Irishman in America. Meagher’s rebirth included his leading the newly formed Irish Brigade in many of the fiercest battles of the US Civil War. Afterward, he tried to build a new Ireland in the wild west of Montana — a quixotic adventure that ended in the great mystery of his disappearance, which Egan, in this unforgettable biography, resolves convincingly at last.

"This is marvelous stuff. Thomas F. Meagher strides onto Egan's beautifully wrought pages just as he lived — powerfully larger than life. A fascinating account of an extraordinary life."—Daniel James Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Facing the Mountain

This rich, page-turning history brings to life:

• An Irish Revolutionary: The story of Thomas Francis Meagher, a dashing orator who led a failed uprising against British rule during the Great Hunger and became a symbol of defiance.
• From Exile to Icon: Banished for life to a Tasmanian prison colony, Meagher engineered a death-defying escape and reemerged in New York as the most famous Irishman in America.
• Civil War General: Witness Meagher's rebirth as the leader of the legendary Irish Brigade, commanding his fellow immigrants in some of the fiercest battles of the US Civil War.
• The American West: Follow his final, quixotic adventure to govern the Montana Territory, a quest that ended in a mystery unsolved for over a century.