Fanatic Heart

John Mitchel is one of the most celebrated of Irish rebels. In the midst of the dreadful Famine of the 1840s, his exhortations to his countrymen to stand up against the British were as controversial as they were compelling. Charged with treason felony, he was transported to Van Diemens Land, courtesy of a law passed in Westminster specifically to silence the charismatic minister's son.

Jenny Mitchel, when she too could have been punished for airing her beliefs on Irish nationalism, had publically championed her husband's campaigns, with a diverse crew of supporters including Thomas Meagher and Jane 'Speranza' Wilde, future mother of Oscar. Devotedly, Jenny packed up their children and followed her prisoner and convict spouse across the continents, to continue to support the cause of Ireland with her boundless love and passion.

In this vivid reimagining of Mitchel's life, Tom Keneally proud Irishman and descendant of convicts, confronts some of the biggest conflicts of our time: slavery, industrialisation, dispossession of land and famine.