Summary

Valiant Gentlemen, by Sabina Murray, is a work of historical fiction based on the lives and relationship of Roger Casement and Herbert Ward, and his wife Sarita Sanford, an Argentinian-American Heiress. The story follows the friendship between Casement and Ward and explores the themes of identity, the bonds that form through friendships, and what it means to be valiant.

Part One, Chapter I: Matadi begins in September of 1886. Ward and Casement debate where and how they first met. They work for the Sanford Exploring Expedition and are in the Congo where they procure porters to carry loads through areas without means of transportation. Ward travels with a young boy, Mbatchi, whom he has hired to carry his personal items. They are currently gathering porters to carry pieces of a steamer called the Florida to Stanley Pool.

When they reach the Bakongo village...