{"product_id":"charcoal-morning-the-unsolved-murder-of-james-johanna-thomas-john-and-bridget-donnelly-the-donnelly-family-massacre-biddulph-townships-most-no-9798267503808","title":"Charcoal Morning: The Unsolved Murder of James, Johanna, Thomas, John, and Bridget Donnelly, The Donnelly Family Massacre, Biddulph Township's Most No","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Graham A. Mercer | Colin J. Mercer\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Historical\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA winter night. A false warrant. A house set alight.\u003c\/b\u003e On \u003cb\u003eFebruary 4, 1880\u003c\/b\u003e, a vigilante mob stormed the Donnelly homestead in \u003cb\u003eBiddulph Township, Ontario\u003c\/b\u003e, killing five family members and burning their home to the ground. A twelve-year-old farmhand-\u003cb\u003eJohnny O'Connor\u003c\/b\u003e-survived by hiding under the bed and later named men he recognized, including \u003cb\u003eConstable James Carroll\u003c\/b\u003e. There were \u003cb\u003etwo trials\u003c\/b\u003e. There were \u003cb\u003eno convictions\u003c\/b\u003e. The township cheered the quiet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book contains no images-only cinematic narrative written in the style of a detective-investigator.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuilt from \u003cb\u003etrial transcripts\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ecoroner's findings\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eparish records\u003c\/b\u003e, and a \u003cb\u003edocumented chronology\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCharcoal Morning\u003c\/i\u003e reconstructs the hours before the flames and the years of pressure that made the massacre possible: the rise of the so-called \u003cb\u003ePeace Society\u003c\/b\u003e, sermons that blurred penance with punishment, and a legal system bent by \u003cb\u003ecommunity bias\u003c\/b\u003e. You'll walk the floorboards of that final night, follow the \u003cb\u003eforensic reconstruction\u003c\/b\u003e through ash and snow, and sit in court as alibis multiply and memory is cross-examined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlong the way, the book probes the enduring fault lines of \u003cb\u003evigilante justice\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003emob violence\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003ehistorical true crime\u003c\/b\u003e-from the Roman Line's sectarian tensions to the afterlives of victims in public memory. It honors \u003cb\u003eJames, Johanna, Thomas, John, and Bridget Donnelly\u003c\/b\u003e not as caricatures but as people, and restores the testimony of the boy who saw what others chose to deny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat You'll Uncover\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eA verified \u003cb\u003etimeline\u003c\/b\u003e from the days before the attack through the second trial and its acquittal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cb\u003eeyewitness path\u003c\/b\u003e of Johnny O'Connor and how his account was dismantled in court.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cb\u003eforensic tracker\u003c\/b\u003e of blows, fire spread, accelerant use, and second-scene ballistics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe roles of \u003cb\u003echurch influence\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eoath-based societies\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003elocal newspapers\u003c\/b\u003e in shaping the verdict of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis Book Is For Readers Who...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ewant \u003cb\u003ecold case investigation\u003c\/b\u003e depth without speculation;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eseek \u003cb\u003eIrish-Canadian history\u003c\/b\u003e told through lived stakes;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003estudy \u003cb\u003ecommunity complicity\u003c\/b\u003e and the mechanics of \u003cb\u003eunsolved massacre\u003c\/b\u003e;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eappreciate narrative nonfiction that \u003cb\u003ereads like a case file\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect For Fans Of...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGregg Olsen, Erik Larson's \u003ci\u003eThe Devil in the White City\u003c\/i\u003e, Michelle McNamara's \u003ci\u003eI'll Be Gone in the Dark\u003c\/i\u003e, John Glatt, Becky Cooper's \u003ci\u003eWe Keep the Dead Close\u003c\/i\u003e, and Monica Hesse's \u003ci\u003eAmerican Fire\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy This Story Endures\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause it is both past and present-\u003cb\u003evigilante justice\u003c\/b\u003e in a country that prefers its myths clean, an \u003cb\u003eunsolved murder\u003c\/b\u003e that still asks who we choose to protect, and a reminder that \u003cb\u003etruth without courage\u003c\/b\u003e rarely survives the night.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46332497002647,"sku":"9798267503808","price":1441.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798267503808.webp?v=1768726477","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/charcoal-morning-the-unsolved-murder-of-james-johanna-thomas-john-and-bridget-donnelly-the-donnelly-family-massacre-biddulph-townships-most-no-9798267503808","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}