The year is 1795 in County Cork, Ireland. The English reign supreme – Protestants are favoured, Catholics are penalised, and women suffer.
Mother and son duo MARY and PATRICK MCCARTHY embark on a daring plan to break free from the shackles of poverty. Mary courageously launches an ambitious lace-making business forging a secret partnership with a handsome French merchant while concealing the income from her drunkard husband.
Disaster strikes when the French merchant's homosexual lover becomes jealous and frames Mary for smuggling. Arrested, Mary is imprisoned in the Bridewell and in a desperate bid to free his mother, Patrick engages a defence barrister. Emotions run high as Patrick and Mary battle against formidable odds. During the trial, Mary's corrupt barrister conspires with her husband.
Adding another layer of anguish, Mary is retried on new charges, found guilty of theft, and sentenced to transportation to the colony of NSW. When Mary's husband refuses to pay the barrister for legal services, a vindictive barrister arranges his death.
On the convict transport, Britannia, Mary reconnects with her elderly psychic aunt, who divines the future, foretelling Mary will become a great healer in the new land.
Meanwhile, the French merchant flees from Cork to Versailles only to discover his jealous lover framed Mary and destroyed his Irish business. Banished from the French merchant's home with no alternative income, the lover enlists in Napoleon's Army.
Lonely and with limited prospects, Patrick joins the Scottish 25th Regiment of Foot. Later in 1803, while in Egypt fighting in the Napoleonic wars, Patrick recognises his mother's nemesis hiding behind a canon and kills the villainous Frenchman.
After a heroic victory in Egypt, Patrick's regiment returns to the Gibraltar Garrison, governed by a brutal authoritarian Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. Patrick leads a peaceful protest, but Prince Edward erupts and turns the canons from Spain, opening fire on his men.
Court-martialled for mutiny, Patrick escapes the firing squad but is dismayed with the commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment. Shackled, he departs Gibraltar for convict transport on the Calcutta bound for Port Phillip Bay.
'The Weavers of Mutiny' is part one of a trilogy; inspired by actual events. Patrick McCarthy was one of the 'Seven Mutineers of Gibraltar,' renowned for leading a military uprising against Prince Edward, but in a tragic end, is killed by natives in Van Diemen's Land.
JENNY BEST BIO
Always up for an adventure, Jenny Best was thrilled to research The Weavers of Mutiny, set in foreign lands. Although new to the Historical Fiction genre, Jenny is not new to writing, having penned many PR articles for newspapers and magazines over the years.
As both a digital nomad and traveller, Jenny has lived and worked in France, the UK, Australia, and Cyprus. Her love of travel, Irish descent, and caravan ownership has her wondering if she is part Gypsy as she follows the season's of abundance with her husband Robert and rescue dog Ophelia.
Before writing fiction, Jenny worked in marketing and public relations for the award-winning company Décor, The Gateway Hotel Brisbane (renamed Mercure Brisbane), the global company Dexion and held voluntary committee and board roles. Jenny was awarded a Deans Commendation, is an MBA graduate from the University of the Sunshine Coast and operates a successful business. Jenny's memberships include the Hobart Town First Settlers Association and the Queensland and Irish Writers Centres.
Jenny’s love of nature, intriguing stories, and belief that the actions of the past define the future, compels her to continue creating, researching and writing the next book in the ongoing saga.
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Acknowledgements
Bitesize Irish Gaelic, The Heritage Unit in Cork, Arthur Riordan from the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, and the long list of historians and academics whose work I have referenced. Thanks also to Ian Martin, Archivist from The Kings Own Scottish Borders Regimental Museum, Dr Veny Armmano and the team at the Queensland Writers Centre, Kieth Melrose of the Peter Cowen Writers Centre in Western Australia. Thanks to Terri Adams OAM, as her research efforts discovered Patrick McCarthy, is my ‘four-times great-grandfather.’ Thanks to my dear friend Catherine Scally, who gave me constant encouragement and assisted me with the French language translations. Also, credit is due to my early readers and those who provided invaluable editorial assistance. Most of all, I thank my husband, Robert Kirk, for his unwavering support.