My new book is being published by McFarland Publishing this fall (2026). It’s not available via Amazon and other booksellers yet, but it can now be preordered from the publisher:
https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/The-Man-Behind-Lightfoot-and-Thunderbolt/
Movies, novels, and stage productions have featured the tales of two criminals, one junior (Lightfoot) and one his seasoned mentor (Thunderbolt), who commit robberies as they travel through rural landscapes. In New England, folklore has developed around real historical figures whom many people were convinced was the notorious Captain Thunderbolt, transplanted from Ireland and Scotland to their neighborhoods. All of these stories and legends derive from the confession of a condemned man, Michael Martin, executed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1821.
For the first time, Martin’s confession is examined with the aim of separating fact from fiction, and to discern the possible motivations behind his crafted narrative. The folklore and literary works that Martin inspired are reviewed to display the varied messages that others have interpreted from his confession. The result is a case study in how folklore is generated and adapted.