Thomas D'Arcy McGee

The narrative traces an Irish-born writer and political figure from a childhood steeped in national myth and temperance activism, through emigration and early American struggles, into a meteoric career in journalism and radical politics, exile, and eventual settlement in Canada. There he quickly entered colonial politics, became a leading advocate for a united nation, and played a prominent part in Confederation debates. The account emphasizes his blend of poetic sensibility and public eloquence, the intensity of a brief decade of public service, and the abrupt, violent end of his life at the hands of a Fenian assassin.