While Moondyne Joe was bushranging in 1869, an Irish prisoner named John Boyle O'Reilly was in Fremantle Prison. He must have heard many stories about Joe's escapes. In September 1869, O'Reilly escaped with help from an American ship. After he got to the United States, he wrote a novel about convict life called Moondyne: An Australian Tale, whose main character was called "Moondyne Joe". The book is not a true story, and the character and the story are different to the life of Joseph Johns.