Customer Reviews

The Black Donnellys

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Thomas P. Kelly's book, 'The Black Donnellys' is historically inacurate. The book is riddled with mistakes in facts, names, and dates. Examples: Kelly says the man that James Donnelly killed was John Farrell -- it was Patrick Farrell. He writes that Tom Donnelly's head was chopped off -- it wasn't, and the little boy who witnessed the massacre was Johnny O'Connor -- not Connor.

The mistakes are too numerous to mention. They weren't typos, just bad research on Kelly's part. The unfortunate thing about this book is that it gives readers an inacurate account of the Donnelly's life and death. Although it is an entertaining book to read, it should be taken with a grain of salt.

To get a historically accurate (unbiased) account of the Donnellys, I encourage people to read: "The Donnelly Album" by Ray Fazakas. The book is well-researched with updated information discovered since the publication Kelly's 1954 book. It is also filled with excellent photographs. A must read for all Donnelly enthusiasts.

As for Kelly's second novel, "Vengeance of the Black Donnellys", this book is fiction, but enjoyable to read. It's a great story and much better written than Kelly's first novel.

Both of Kelley's books ought to be categorized as historical fiction, at best. His research was cursory and incomplete and his accounts of the events could have been written by an apologist for the families of the vigilantes. Orlo Miller (The Donnellys Must Die - 1962)and Ray Fazakas (The Donnelly Album - 1977) have both done a creditable job of portraying the events and the participants. Any student of history is encouraged to read the latter two books rather than either of Kelley's. Using the accurate maps, descriptions and many photos in The Donnelly Album I was able to locate virtually all of the major sites of the conflict. The village of Lucan is little changed since 1880 and the cedar swamp school house still stands, as well as many of the original homesteads. This story puts paid to the notion that Canadian history is boring.

I read the review of Robert of Victoria (dated Dec. 10) with interest. I wholeheartedly agree with his comments about the misleading nature of the book. Sometimes I get the impression that Kelley made the book up as he went along. For instance, he paints a picture of Mike Donnelly as a lazy, shiftless wanderer. But at the time of his death, Mike was a married man, the father of two young children and the holder of a steady job on the railway (hardly the image of one lazy and shiftless!)The Donnellys certainly were no angels, but they were not the evil incarnate that Kelley would have us believe. When I first read "The Black Donnellys" the sensationalized tales of their over-the-top exploits made me think "This can't be right!" I don't think it's any coincidence that almost every work that I know of on the Donnellys that has come out after Kelley's works have been pro-Donnelly. To anyone who wants a less sensationalized, less brutal picture of this family, I would recommend Ray Fazakas' volume "The Donnelly Album". It should be available at the local library. That being said, Kelley's book IS an interesting read!

I began reading this book advised that it was full of inaccuracies, but still I was surprised by just how pitiful this book is. Not only is it full of inaccuracies and poorly researched, the writing is horrible. If you can get your hands on a copy, Orlo Miller's The Donnellys Must Die is a better--although hardly "authoritative"--introduction to the whole Donnelly thing.

Anyone even remotely interested in the facts surrounding the murders of the Donnellys of Biddulph Township, Ontario should avoid this book at all costs. The true story is as gripping as it gets, why sensationalize it. Why Kelley produced this piece of rubbish in the first place, why he chose to demonize the Donnellys in isolation, and why the book continues to be so popular escapes me. Two very worthwhile books are available, both well researched and as accurate as the situation and politics of the area permit. "The Donnelly Album" by Ray Fazakas is highly recommended as it contains innumerable period photos of the Donnellys and the area around Lucan. "The Donnellys Must Die" by Orlo Miller is a well researched and balanced account of the whole situation.

I first read this book in grade ten English class and I still cannot believe they would make us read a book that was loaded with historical inaccuracies. I came away with the feeling that the author`s family was on the vigilante commitee and the author was merely providing p r for them

"The Black Donnellys" is a terrible shame. Mr. Kelley's book is unresearched and goes out of it's way to make the Donnellys look as black and evil as possible. His second book is an even more fictionalized account of the Donnelly's lives. Unfortunately, most of Canada's knowledge comes from these two books. If you are at all interested in the Donnellys, I urge you to read the books by Orlo Miller and the plays by James Reaney. Both are more researched, and paint a much clearer picture of what really happened in Biddulph and Lucan almost 100 years ago.

I read this book a couple of weeks ago and although I found it hard to get into at first it was a good read after. I didn't agree with alot of what the author said. Although I think what happend to the Donnellys to be fair and much deserved.

I have read this novel several times, and it is still exciting. I just can't believe that something so dramatic has happened so close to where I live. I would have liked to know more of what they looked like. The only thing it said was that they were six foot and handsome. I think that T. Kelley has done a magnificant job on all the research and writing the novel. I would have liked to know when the other Donnellys died (William etc.) Overall I really recommend this book.

I read this book 45 years ago when I lived in the same area as this book was written. At the time I thought the book was vastly entertaining,I was very young at the time! Having recently come across the book on Amazon recently I decided to read it again! To my surprise I found the story of the Donnellys still very gripping but Now tinged with sadness. I would recomend this book as a can't put down book
JS