Description
Book SynopsisCanadian Spy Story takes readers into a dark and dangerous world of betrayal and deception, spies and informers, invasion and assassination. David A. Wilson tells the tale of the Fenians – Irishmen who wished to liberate their country from British rule – and the Canadian secret police who infiltrated their revolutionary cells.
Trade Review“Canadian Spy Story is brilliant historical scholarship, the profundity of its argument deliberately concealed by its gripping narrative. Wilson waits until the end to reflect on larger questions of civil liberty versus national security that pervade the entire story. This is a masterstroke of storytelling.” Kevin Kenny, New York University
“Canadian Spy Story is an outstanding book by one of Canada’s leading historians - meticulously researched, well structured, and beautifully written. Wilson paints a compelling picture of the twilight world of émigré conspirators, their anger at their plight, their desire to strike back, their resilience in the face of innumerable setbacks, and their doggedness in planning for the great day of liberation.” Thomas Bartlett, University of Aberdeen
“Canadian spy story is a remarkable feat of research and scholarship, covering decades of Irish history in North America and beyond as it reconstructs the exploits and once-secret operations of the agents who infiltrated the ranks of the Fenians. The book is thorough and thoughtful enough to please Wilson’s fellow academics, yet clear and readable enough for a general audience.” History Ireland
“If this is in many respects an Irish story, Wilson is richly informative on its Canada West (Ontario) dimensions, notably in his analysis of the province’s Irish Catholic community, which included numerous Fenians, a rather larger circle of sympathizers, and a key newspaper, Toronto’s Irish Canadian.” Champlain Society Floyd S. Chalmers Award jury
