The Fascinating Story of the Donnellys: Crime, Punishment and Family Ties

The Donnellys -- the notorious Black Donnellys of southwestern Ontario folklore -- occupy a unique place in Canadian history.

The family was a wild one, a lawless one, to a degree. In and around Lucan, Ontario, where the family lived, the Donnellys were both respected and feared because they were the original band of brothers. Those who had the misfortune -- or the foolishness -- to mistreat one Donnelly might just as well have mistreated them all, for the act did not go either unnoticed or unpunished.

In the late 1800s, there was mayhem along the Roman Line in the Lucan area. There were killings, there was retribution for the killings -- and many of the perpetrators were never brought to justice. There was lawlessness all around and the Donnellys, whether directly involved or not, were never too far from the heart of it all.

Into this world steps Cheryl Camp-Mathers, a writer based in Brantford, Ontario, about an hour's drive from where the Donnellys made their mark and their reputation. For many years, Camp-Mathers has been intrigued by the family's story and its history -- and she is certain that she has formed an intimate, spiritual connection with the Donnellys.

And so, she has written and produced Donnellys Forever, a part-fact, part-fiction novel that takes readers deep within the inner sanctum of one of Canada's most notorious families.

It becomes clear very quickly that Camp-Mathers has developed a bond with the Donnellys. She has a certain empathy and sympathy for a family that may have been judged too harshly in the history books. She questions, in her own provocative style, whether history has made too quick a leap to judgment -- and she wonders if the Donnellys could ever have been as evil and black-hearted as history and the media have made them out to be.

Donnellys Forever is a fascinating book. Its perspective is unique; its insights are intriguing. And it's a compelling, insightful read as well.

For Camp-Mathers, it's just the start. Her next book -- Purgatory Bound -- promises to be equally as compelling and even more contemporary. It's the story -- a story still going through the courts -- of Robert Pickton and the gruesome murders of prostitutes in British Columbia.

If her work on the Donnelly family can be used as a gauge, her insights into the Pickton case will be eagerly awaited.

Donnellys Forever
Written by Cheryl E. Camp-Mathers
ISBN: 097829890X

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