Roger Casement

Born in 1864 in Ireland, Roger Casement achieved early fame when he exposed Belgium's brutal colonial practices in the Congo. The international outcry and widespread reforms that followed spurred him on to other causes, most notably Irish independence. But Casement had another side. When he was arrested by British authorities after a failed rebellion, his Black Diaries were discovered and publicized. Featuring detailed accounts of cruising, gay customs, and sex with male prostitutes, soldiers, and natives, these writings, along with his radical politics, sealed Casement's fate at age 52.William Bryant's extensive biography captures its subject's dramatic life with novelistic flair. The book creates an ultimately moving portrait of a man who would become a legend of Irish martyrdom and a key chronicler of early gay life.