The incredible true story of one of the most extraordinary and inspirational prison breaks in Australian history.
New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael - agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke - hatch a daring plan to free six Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as a 'living tomb'. What follows is one of history's most stirring sagas that splices Irish, American, British and Australian history together in its climactic moment.
For Ireland, who had suffered English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War; for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great Britain was not unbeatable.
Told with FitzSimons' trademark combination of arresting history and storytelling verve, The Catalpa Rescue is a tale of courage and cunning, the fight for independence and the triumph of good men, against all odds.
Roxie Nafousi
Roxie Nafousi
Laura Shepperson
Aamna Qureshi
Steve Cavanagh
Adele Zeynep Walton
Tessa Bickers
Sarah Hornsley
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Emma Chapman
Elizabeth Gill
Hanna Thomas Uose
Diane Ladd
Ana Huang
Gregory Maguire
Helen Nagle-Smith
Elora Cook
Hannah Deitch
Aman J. Bedi
Elsie Silver
Venki Ramakrishnan
Genevieve Kingston
Jane Thynne
Katherine McLaughlin
Vinson Cunningham
Tilly Rose
Robert Ingpen
Chetna Makan
Bruce Jones
Scott Walker
Aman J. Bedi
Brandon Sanderson
Rosalind Brown
Kate Kemp
Jessie Hewitson
Hillary Yablon
Christopher Buehlman
Tim Budgen
Suzanne O’Sullivan
Dr Tara Porter
Andrew J. Scott
Oliver Moody
Mick Herron
Carolina Rabei
Ella Dove
Bella Swift
Adam Rutherford
Lucy Score
L.A. MacRae
Adam Forrest Kay
Tobias Buck
Haru Yamada
Kuchenga Shenjé
Tor Freeman
Patricia Graham
Tiffany Yu
Philippe Sands
Caroline Reid
M. R. Carey
M. R. Carey
Michael Mansfield
Elise Kova
Clare Mackintosh
Nalini Ramachandran
Kate Kemp
Ella Frears
Giles Murray
Walter Tevis
Tad Williams
Joanne Harris
Josh Malerman
Natalie Lawrence
Petroc Trelawny
Ace Atkins
Martin Salter
Chris Moore
Ivanna Dump
Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Hannu Rajaniemi
Dylan Jones
Daisy Dunn
Brian D. Mclaren
Artemis Cooper
Sarah E Hill
Valerie Boyd
Caroline Montague
James Doty
Oonagh Stransky
Cole Arthur Riley
Kim Sherwood
Mikael Krogerus
Mikael Krogerus
Mikael Krogerus
Mikael Krogerus
Mikael Krogerus