8/14/2015 Patrick III is released. Though this novel is fiction it was inspired by a trip Patti took with two generations of her father’s family to Newfoundland to trace their Healy and Nugent roots. Patti says about this book, “It was interesting to me how taking a close extended family out of their usual setting, changes the family dynamics.”
It was on this fact-finding trip Patti’s family discovered an entry in the records. “Patrick Nugent, St. John’s, escaped a prison ship bound from Ireland, 1800.” That entry intrigued Patti for decades. She wondered what he did to get arrested (it was a year seeing a rise in rebellion), and how he managed to escape a prison ship.
The story of Patrick Nugent, 1800, plays a part in Patrick III. For years the author picked up and put down this novel, trying to work out the answer to these questions. After five years of this, Patti made up a story for Patrick Nugent and completed the novel. Mere weeks after finishing her book, a chance find online uncovered the corresponding entry in the prison records of Kilmainham Jail, Dublin. “Patrick Nugent, 1800 arrested for robbery, sentenced to deportation to New South Wales.”
Patrick III is based on quest tale format. It plays with many familiar tales such as Knights of the Round Table and The Odyssey, among others. Enjoy. It’s funny…oh, and there’s a romance.