The award-winning journalist and writer Linden MacIntyre discusses his bestseller An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile (Random House Canada, 2025), with Joseph Planta.
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An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile by Linden MacIntyre (Random House Canada, 2025).
Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: An Accidental Villain |
Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.
Linden MacIntyre joins me again. He’s just released a new biography, An Accidental Villain: A Soldier’s Tale of War, Deceit and Exile. It’s a compelling and fascinating biography of the little-known Sir Hugh Tudor. He was a junior officer in the Boer War, and went on to distinguish himself in the First World War as a senior officer, rising to the rank of Major-General. In 1920, old friend Winston Churchill calls on Tudor to serve in Ireland. As Minister of War in Lloyd George’s cabinet, Churchill thinks Tudor could resist the threat to British colonial authority posed by the Irish rebels. Soon, Tudor’s police force, the Black and Tans employ death squads and inflict brutal reprisals against the IRA, as well as Sinn Fein politicians. This all culminates on 21 November 1920, Bloody Sunday, when the Black and Tans slaughter Irish football spectators. Tudor didn’t have a diary or letters that might explain his actions or suggest his motives. That’s what makes Mr. MacIntyre’s new book so compelling. He goes through the archives and the diaries and letters of Tudor’s contemporaries to try and piece through this consequential life. Later in Tudor’s life, he makes his way to Newfoundland. This third act, if you will, provides more intrigue, not to mention family drama. I’ll get Linden to tell us more, about getting to know Tudor, finding out about his life and times, and answering some of the questions as to why Tudor ended up in Newfoundland. Was it to leave his wife and children behind? Was it for other love? Was it simply for business? Was it to dodge assassination attempts? And what happened when it was rumoured assassins might have sought Tudor in his later years in St. John’s. Linden MacIntyre is the award-winning and bestselling author of multiple novels including the Giller Prize winning The Bishop’s Man. He’s won many awards for his distinguished career as a broadcast journalist. He spent twenty-four years as a co-host of the fifth estate. The book is already a Number One bestseller, published by Random House Canada. We taped this interview in late August. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Linden MacIntyre; Mr. MacIntyre, good morning.
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