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A New York Times Notable Book from the PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author. “An imaginative exploration of the tragedy of lost friendship” (Los Angeles Times). In prose that is darkly humorous and alive with detail, Valiant Gentlemen reimagines the lives and intimate friendships of humanitarian and Irish patriot Roger Casement; his closest friend, Herbert Ward; and Ward’s extraordinary wife, the Argentinian American heiress Sarita Sanford. Valiant Gentlemen takes the reader on an intimate journey, from Ward and Casement’s misadventurous youth in the Congo—where, among other things, they bore witness to an Irish whiskey heir’s taste for cannibalism—to Ward’s marriage to Sarita and their flourishing family life in France, to Casement’s covert homosexuality and enduring nomadic lifestyle floating between his work across the African continent and involvement in Irish politics. When World War I breaks out, Casement and Ward’s longstanding political differences finally come to a head and when Ward and his teenage sons leave to fight on the frontlines for England, Casement begins to work alongside the Germans to help free Ireland from British rule. What results is tragic and riveting, as both men are forced to confront notions of love and betrayal in the face of the vastly different tracks their lives have taken. Reminiscent of the work of Peter Carey and Michael Ondaatje, Valiant Gentlemen is a uniquely human account of some of early twentieth century’s larger historical figures from a “ravishing” (O, The Oprah Magazine) and “brilliant” voice in fiction today (The Boston Globe).
In 1941, Sgt Albert Victor Ient sought adventure and travel in the Services. Stationed in Hong Kong, he faced a different reality when his position was overrun. A generation later, his son Vic Ient set out to discover exactly what his father went through as a POW on the island of Innoshima. This is the story of how World War II affected everyday people. Beneath the politics, military tactics and diplomacy, there were the ordinary, hard-suffering servicemen. The author uncovers details of not only Sgt Ient’s capture and imprisonment, but also of the experiences of seven others who lived to share their personal accounts. Ient explores armed conflict, ghastly prison transport and 3 years of suffering, through personal testimony, maps, photographs and telegrams, all in the context of the Far East theatre. With great strength, and even humour, these eight men’s accounts reveal what POW life was really like. Including a foreword from WWII historian Dr Tony Banham, These Valiant Men is both personal and factual – a must read for anyone with an interest in World War II. “A worthy and necessary addition to the library of works on the Second World War in the Far East.” – Reader Review