The Trial of Bat Shea

by Jack Casey

THE TRIAL OF BAT SHEA, a novel by Jack Casey, tells of the struggles of the Irish in gritty, industrial Troy, N.Y. (130,000 words, 55 illustrations). The year is 1894. Boss Edward Murphy, United States Senator and New York State Democratic Chairman, runs this upstate mill city from a brewery. Thugs and repeat voters emerge from ward saloons each election day to stuff ballot boxes and keep Murphy s Irish Catholic Democrats in office. When a posse of Protestant vigilantes turns out to stop the voting fraud, a young industrialist is gunned down. The murder of Robert Ross sparks an explosive backlash. Pious congregations cry for vengeance from the Protestant pulpits. Suffragettes demand the woman s vote to reform and civilize elections. A secret fraternity dresses in black robes and hoods and fastens on to the murder to topple Murphy and seize power. Stepping from the shadows, shrewd Yankee lawyer Frank Black accuses Bartholomew Shea of the crime, and then guides community outrage into the channels of criminal law. But did Shea pull the fatal trigger? From elegant mansions to immigrant slums, this drama of ambition and betrayal, of bigotry and oppression plays against the backdrop of industrial America while the Victorian age darkens. THE TRIAL OF BAT SHEA recounts how a saloon thug steals an election, and how a political opportunist then leads a flag-waving mob and twists the law to extract the last full measure of revenge, a life for a life, in the name of truth and justice.

Hardcover

First published March 31, 1994

About the author

JACK CASEY is an attorney who has handled civil, criminal and constitutional matters for thirty years in his solo practice. In HAMILTON’S CHOICE, Casey dramatizes the last three years of Alexander Hamilton’s life, and plausibly explains why he went to his first and fatal duel. Casey’s newest release, INTO THE HEARTLAND, is a sweeping saga of adversity and triumph around the building of the Erie Canal (1810–1825). His other published historical novels are LILY OF THE MOHAWKS and THE TRIAL OF BAT SHEA. Casey graduated with honors from Yale University and Albany Law School, and has studied literature at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities. He lives in Troy, NY and Raleigh, NC with his wife and editor, Victoria.

Reviews

[Jim McGurn]

Excellent reading and surpassed my expectations. The story of an illiterate Troy bouncer Bartholomew Shea, who got involved in the dirty politics of the day is riveting, partly because of the many comparisons to the modern day, which jump to mind: Accusations of voting irregularities, economic and social inequities, "boss" politics, idiots with guns, labor unions' struggles, stacked courts, immigrant prejudice, capital punishment... Also, Casey shows himself to be a skillful writer, who imbues the text with suspense and empathy for the characters even as we know the outcome is an historical fact. If you are at all familiar with the geographical area from Troy to Dannemora Prison, it becomes even more fascinating.
I came to this story via another fascinating story from upstate NY, the unsolved murder of Hazel Drew in the next era. Both of these could make good video dramas.

[Judy Rancourt]

To much detail for me - Chuck liked this book more than I did, but the history of Troy is there and fascinating. The Ross connection is interesting, especially based on 2020 election comparatively.