The Manx Cad By John Cannan
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The Remarkable Story of Alfred Curphey, Squire of Ballamoar
He bought Ballamoar from the Isle of Man Bank, knocked it down and built something grander. He was then given the unofficial title of Squire by the Ramsey Courier – not at all bad for the son of a widowed housekeeper whose husband had died in a lunatic asylum. Locals got used to seeing Curphey’s exotic visitors in the town, possibly being chauffeured in his Brasier car, one of the first cars on the island. And yet Curphey had no reliable income. His money came from speculation and sponging.
Unusually for a Manx book most of the ‘action’ doesn’t happen on the Isle of Man. Curphey was a traveller, visiting various states of America, Mexico and Egypt, usually by the most up-to-date means and staying in first class hotels. He rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous including the composer Giacomo Puccini and the writer Agatha Christie. Almost always such luxury was paid for by someone else’s wife.
Curphey wanted to cut a dash and didn’t seem to mind how he did it. Whether he was providing tea for groups of local Manx schoolchildren, or working as a British secret agent, or seducing the wife of a robber baron, Curphey got noticed. He may have been unscrupulous to the point of villainy but he had a very interesting life.
Format Paperback | 48 pages
Dimensions 210 x 210 x 5mm
Publication date 03 May 2022
Publisher Loaghtan Books
Illustrations note 32 colour and black and white images