Black Donnellys

The gruesome saga of the Black Donnellys has been heavily mythologized beginning with the first book on the story by Thomas Kelley in 1954. A thick layer of rumour, legend and hearsay has built up around the facts of the case. But one thing is clear —  the murderous events that occurred near the town of Lucan, Ontario, in the 1870s are unforgettable.

This new edition of Black Donnellys by Nate Hendley has been updated to include numerous black and white and colour photos pertaining to the Donnelly family. This book was the subject of a leading case in Canada's Federal Court on whether anyone can claim copyright on historical facts. The court's decision in 2021 was definitive -- no one owns history, and no one owns the facts -- and was not appealed.

This book offers a short account of Canada's most notorious 19th century case of vigilante action leading to murder. The killers were by men from a community harassed by a no-holds-barred criminal family. They went to their graves protected by a conspiracy of silence among those in the know. The story has been told and retold in books, songs, plays and a movie -- and in this readable and engaging account by author Nate Hendley.