A New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2016; A New York Times Editors’ Choice; a Washington Post Notable Fiction Book of 2016; a Washington Independent Review of Books Top 25 Books of 2016 “A novel as vigorous, audacious and unpredictable as Casement himself . . . [Murray] translates the past into a present as immediate as it is unnerving.” ― New York Times Book Review “Written beautifully, from the point of view of a writer who cares deeply.” ― Boston Globe “An imaginative exploration of the tragedy of lost friendship.”― Los Angeles Times A New York Times Top 100 Books of 2016, Valiant Gentlemen is an epic and bold novel of friendship and betrayal set across four continents and a 40 year timespan. Reimagining the lives and intimate friendships of humanitarian and Irish patriot Roger Casement; his closest friend, Herbert Ward; and Ward’s wife, the Argentinian-American heiress Sarita Sanford, in Valiant Gentlemen Sabina Murray takes the reader on an intimate journey, from Ward and Casement’s misadventurous youth in the Congo to Ward’s marriage to Sarita and their flourishing family life in France, to Casement’s covert homosexuality and eventual involvement in Irish politics. Valiant Gentlemen is a uniquely human account of some of early 20th century’s larger historical figures from a master writer of historical fiction. “A big, ambitious book . . . Murray is canny in tracing the near-imperceptible stages by which Casement and Ward land on opposite sides of bitterly divisive issues . . . [A] wise, illuminating novel.”― Washington Post * One of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2016 * A New York Times Editors' Choice * A Washington Post Notable Fiction Book of 2016 * One of the Washington Independent Review of Books Top 25 Books of 2016 "A novel as vigorous, audacious and unpredictable as Casement himself . . . [Murray] translates the past into a present as immediate as it is unnerving." -- David Leavitt, New York Times Book Review "Written beautifully, from the point of view of a writer who cares deeply . . . That the novel can be so despairingly honest about a writer's limitations while still be so entertaining says a lot about Murray's considerable talent." -- Brock Clarke, Boston Globe "A big, ambitious book . . . [with] intelligence and sly prose . . . Murray is canny in tracing the near-imperceptible stages by which Casement and Ward land on opposite sides of bitterly divisive issues . . . She has a knack for alluding to the era's public events and concerns in a manner that lets us understand their impact and influence without her laboring over their details--an indispensable gift for a historical novelist . . . [A] wise, illuminating novel." -- Michael Upchurch, Washington Post "Expansive . . . Nimbly shifting continents, decades, and political alliances, Sabina Murray does a brilliant job imbuing grand chunks of black and white history with color-breathing fire. Yet there is a haunted feel to the novel . . . Valiant Gentlemen recreates an entire, magnificent era, exploring identity, friendship, marriage, love, and grief, tracing the days of two great men from passionate youth to disenchanted old age. Upstanding men who chased ideals that would never be realized, who never viewed themselves as valiant or worthy enough for the age in which they lived. Men who Murray has, through the power of her keen writing and sweeping insight, resurrected, letting the heroism of their lives outshine their small and human frailties." -- Siobhan Fallon, New York Journal of Books "[Murray] ingeniously links two young friends . . . ultimately the novel is an imaginative exploration of the tragedy of lost friendship." -- Los Angeles Times "A rich, compulsively readable story of friendship, colonialism, and the burden of moral ambiguity . . . an engrossing novel, by turns dark and funny, incisive and tender--an I-can't-talk-now-I'm-deep-in-Africa kind of read . . . Murray's language is gorgeously devastating, succinct and muscular, hefting multiple meanings . . . Virtually every word vibrates with under- and overtones. Images are nuanced; verbs surprise and delight . . . Murray shows perfect pitch in dialogue, along with an uncanny ability to define character, provide exposition, and develop the plot, sometimes all within the same sentence . . . a leisurely, penetrating rumination on loving relationships, on loyalty, on the meaning of valor, on betrayal, on the nature of civilization, and on the excruciating fun of storytelling itself." -- Washington Independent Review of Books "Richly researched, Murray's epic rendering of [this] story takes a deep dive into [a] volatile era." -- Toronto Star "This book reveals an impressive breadth of research, which Murray naturally weaves into her vibrant scenes." -- Dallas News "What Murray's novel does very well is recreate the surprise and fascination of these men's lives." -- VICE "Murray's meticulous attention