Fenian Fire

Christy Campbell was a publisher’s editor before turning freelance writer. He has written for the Sunday Telegraph since 1990 when he joined as Defence Correspondent covering the Gulf War. He has made a speciality of ‘forensic historical investigations’ and produced a series of special supplements for the Sunday Telegraph on 20th-century history. He has written a number of non-fiction books on World War II and broadcast on radio and television, and is the author of The Maharajah’s Box published HarperCollins.

'Christy Campbell has come up with a genuine historical scoop… In a superb piece of historical detective work, Campbell has pieced together every element of the conspiracy on both sides of the Atlantic, from the prime minister's house in St James's to the Islington garret where the "dynamitards" were arrested in November 1887… It was a classic case of an agent provocateur sting.' Andrew Roberts, The Times'Campbell has uncovered an extraordinary web of personal and political intrigue… an enthralling tale… the pace never slackens… Particularly good is his account of the origins of Irish revolutionary nationalism… To tell this involved story against the backdrop of bureaucratic bickering, revolutionary intrigue and clandestine meetings between spies and informers is both original and clever. Campbell is making this type of breezy investigative history his own.' Andrew Lycett, Sunday Times'The "jubilee plot" is such a bizarre episode that I would regard it as the product of a febrile imagination had Christy Campbell not documented sufficient evidence to remove all reasonable doubt… From Mexico City to Liverpool and from the House of Commons to Chicago coroner's court, the story moves at the pace of the best sort of adventure story. All the Boy's Own Paper ingredients are there… colourful characters and compelling story… Its account of Fenian organisation and activity makes a real contribution to nineteenth-century history.' Roy Hattersley, Observer