A Rebel and a Traitor

From the master storyteller behind the critically acclaimed Killing Thatcher comes an extraordinary and gripping new story of a rogue consul who sought to forge a new nation in the middle of a war. In A Rebel and a Traitor (HarperCollins), author and journalist Rory Carroll shines a brilliant light on the story of decorated diplomat Sir Roger Casement who turned his back on the British empire and instead joined the rising Irish cause at the turn of the 20th century. At the book’s centre is the manhunt for Casement led by intelligence officer Reginald ‘Blinker’ Hall, the legendary British spy chief who pioneered codebreaking, early mass surveillance and media manipulation. Drawing thoroughly from numerous and diverse records, Carroll brings us a page-turning story, from a pivotal moment in Anglo-Irish history, that raises profound questions about honour, courage and the price of patriotism. Join us for a captivating evening of conversation.

Rory Carroll, currently the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent, has spent most of his career as a foreign correspondent based in Rome, Johannesburg, Baghdad, Caracas and Los Angeles. His first book, Comandante: Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela, was published in 2013. Since returning to his native Dublin in 2018 he has covered Ireland’s tangled relationship with Britain and the legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles – a fascination with history and narrative non-fiction that led to Killing Thatcher and now A Rebel and a Traitor.

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