The Donnellys

by James Reaney, James Noonan (Contributor)

Based on the true story of an Irish family with seven sons and one daughter immigrating to Biddulph Township near London, Ontario, in 1844, The Donnellys tells the tale of mystery and truths stranger than fiction. It is the story of a secret society and a massacre that shocked the Canadian public, a story overlooked by the artistic community until Reaney’s play elevated the events to the level of legend. First published in 1975, this script takes its place among other true Canadian classics on university and college course listings and in the hearts of drama lovers everywhere. The Donnellys is a trilogy comprised of Sticks & Stones, St. Nicholas Hotel and Handcuffs, three tense and mythic tragedies that garnered critical praise at the 1973 Tarragon Theatre opening and continue to acquire accolades from professors, actors and artistic directors across the country. As with the drama of Yeats, Eliot, O’Neill, Brecht and Beckett, this rendering of a generation of Irish settlers and their brutal murder at the hands of more than thirty vigilante killers is controversial and exciting to this day. Foreword, Afterword and Chronology by James Noonan.

Genres: Plays

295 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

James Crerar Reaney, OC FRSC was a Canadian poet, playwright, librettist, and professor. Reaney won Canada's highest literary award, the Governor General's Award, three times and received the Governor General's Award for Poetry or Drama for both his poetry and his drama.

Reviews

[Eric]

The Donnelly story is a deeply compelling sample of Canadian history. There are several facets of the story that ought to be considered worthy of attention even now. Reaney’s plays are not great for reading, though they may have been very involving as a live theatrical production. If a theatre company were putting a show together, I would probably go. As a book, it provides a terrific view of what a play might have been like, but it isn’t an appealing read. Often it is either boring or obscure. Others have written about the Donnelly story, although I’m not certain that anybody has yet written the “plus non ultra”.

[Alana]

Not as good as i thought it was going to be. A little Dry for my taste.