Buck Whaley

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Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley was one of the greatest adventurers in Irish history. In 1788 he made an extraordinary 10-month journey from Dublin to Jerusalem for a wager of £15,000, equivalent to several million today. During his journey he nearly shipwrecked in the Sea of Crete, almost died of plague in Constantinople, and met an infamous Ottoman governor known as ‘the Butcher.’ On his return, he became an overnight celebrity before suffering a catastrophic series of gambling losses that exiled him first to continental Europe (where he attempted to rescue Louis XVI from the guillotine) and then to the Isle of Man. When he died aged 34 in 1800 he had squandered an astronomical £400,000 (around €100 million) ‘without ever purchasing or acquiring contentment or one hour’s true happiness.’ Buck Whaley tells the full story of his remarkable life and adventures for the first time.