Non-Fiction . . .
The Manx Connection
From Chicago to Cape Town, Wisconsin to Western Australia, the 19th century saw Manx pioneers leave their homeland to start new lives
around the globe. For a small island, the extent of the travels of the Manx - and their lasting impact on the places they settled - was remarkable.
It's a story of colourful characters, incredible adventures and indomitable spirit. But one thing remained constant - where the Manx settled, they retained their sense of community and gathered together to form societies.
Those societies remain today, led by descendants of the pioneers and recent emigrants. In a bid to unearth why these Manx adventurers were so proud of their roots, and why the societies retain such strong links to the Isle of Man, John travelled across the US, through the Middle East and South Africa and Down Under, to Australia and New Zealand.
The Manx Connection is the story of his travels.
The Manx Giant
Standing 7'11" and weighing in at more than 500lbs, Arthur Caley was the kind of man you want on your side in a bar brawl.
Born in the village of Sulby in 1824, Caley left the Isle of Man in 1851, appearing in freak shows in Manchester and London. A year later he was being exhibited in Paris, until his death was reported on January 1st, 1853 - not long after his manager had insured his life for £2,000.
A few years later, Caley reappeared on the streets of New York, where he was discovered by Phineas Taylor Barnum. Under the stage name of Colonel Routh Goshen, and billed as a giant of Arabian descent, Caley was part of the 'Greatest Show on Earth', P.T. Barnum's Grand Travelling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome, which would later become the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Caley retired to a farm in Clyde, New Jersey, where he died on February 12th, 1889, aged 65.
The Manx Giant, a biography of Caley, will be published in late 2008.