Description
Appointed by Winston Churchill to lead Ireland’s police force during the Irish War of Independence, Major-General Sir Hugh Tudor traded the glory of the Great War for the shadows of state-sanctioned murder.
Returning from the Western Front, Tudor was summoned by Churchill to wage a ruthless war against a very different enemy – the IRA. Commanding the infamous Black and Tans, Tudor unleashed a reign of terror: death squads prowling the streets, political assassinations, and brutal reprisals that scarred a nation. He left few traces of his time in Ireland – no diary or letters to explain what drove a knighted war hero to the darkness of Bloody Sunday, when his men massacred football fans in cold blood.
Drawing on archives and the personal records of Tudor’s contemporaries, acclaimed journalist Linden MacIntyre deftly pieces together the life of a man who traded honour for brutality. In An Accidental Villain, he traces Tudor’s journey from decorated soldier to a shadowy figure who fled the country he once sought to control. This is a compelling exploration of how power, loyalty, and imperial ambition can corrupt a man’s destiny – and push him past the point of redemption.
Contents
Prologue
Part I : A New Found Land
Part II : Ireland: From Mutiny to Murder
Part III : Retaliation
Part IV : Whirlwind
Part V : The Holy Land
Part VI : Amid the Northern Mists
Epilogue
About the Author
Linden MacIntyre is an award-winning author and journalist. His novels – including The Bishop’s Man, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize – have been national bestsellers. His boyhood memoir, Causeway, won the Edna Staebler and Evelyn Richardson Awards. A celebrated broadcaster, MacIntyre spent 24 years co-hosting The Fifth Estate, earning ten Gemini awards. He lives in Toronto with his wife, author Carol Off.
