Carnfunnock Country Park history brought to life in new book

The 1865 sale of the Carnfunnock estate, and later also Larne harbour, to James Chaine by the Agnew family is the dramatic backdrop to the debut novel of Exeter-based historian C.Q. Turnstone.

Written in the form of biographical historical fiction, Avarice of Empire tells the previously untold true story of Captain Charles Agnew, a cavalry officer who served with the Scarlet Lancers in India and who died 'by the hand of an assassin' in Egypt on 22nd March 1873. Charles was the second son of James and Catherine Agnew, who lived on the Carnfunnock estate in a house known as Cairncastle Lodge.

The author began researching Charles Agnew's life, and the circumstances of his murder, after being intrigued by the unique wording of a Victorian memorial tablet in Canterbury Cathedral during a visit in May 2015. "Every day for the past century and a half, people have been wondering who Charles Agnew was, what he was doing in Egypt, and why he was killed. I was among them and I knew it was a history I wanted to write," said Turnstone.

"Although Avarice of Empire is Charles Agnew's biography first and last, it's also about the fortitude of Victorian women, class division and colonial prejudice, early photography and the embryonic intelligence service, a revolution in global communications, and how an Irishman discovered what would become India’s largest gold mine," the author added.

Larne Museum and the Carnfunnock Country Park Visitor Centre hold copies of Avarice of Empire, which was published by Brindle Books in March 2025.