Roger Casement's Diaries -- 1910: The Black & The White - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071267375X ISBN 13: 9780712673754

Publisher: Pimlico / Random House, 1997

Synopsis

Born in Ireland in 1864, Roger Casement acted as British Consul in Africa and Brazil, where he denounced atrocities among Congolese and Putumayo rubber workers. He was knighted in 1911 and retired from the consular service two years later. In 1914, he attempted to enlist support, in America and Germany, for the Irish nationalist cause. Convicted of high treason, he was executed in London at the age of 51. A compulsive diarist, his so-called "Black" diaries were finally released into the public domain in 1994. At the time of his trial, these diaries--detailing his promiscuous homosexual activities in Brazil--were used to discredit and condemn him. Now an accurate transcript of the "Black" Diary, published here for the first time--as is his more public "White" Diary--offers the reader the opportunity to judge its authenticity--still a matter of heated debate. Together, they take us deep into the mind of the bravest, most selfless humanitarian of the Edwardian age.

About this title

About the Author:

Roger Sawyer was educated at Wycliffe College, the University of Wales, and the University of Southampton. He was awarded the T.G James Prize in Education and subsequently embarked on a school-mastering career. After a housemastership at The Blue Coat School, Edgbaston, he became Deputy Head, then Headmaster, of Bembridge Preparatory School. He presented his doctoral thesis entitled 'Origins and career of Roger Casement with particular reference to the development of his interest in the rights of dependent ethnic groups' in 1979. He took early retirement in 1983 and has since concentrated on writing. His books include Casement: The Flawed Hero (1984), Slavery in the Twentieth Century (1986), Children Enslaved (1988) and We are but Women: Women in Ireland's History (1993). In 1985 he received the Airey Neave Award for Research into Freedom under National Laws. He is a member of the Council of Anti-Slavery International.

Review:

The controversy over the authenticity of Sir Roger Casement's so-called "Black Diaries," which chronicled various of his homosexual activities during the early years of this century, seems never-ending. Their existence became known during his trial in 1916. Sawyer nicely lays out the history of the diaries and his reasons for rejecting the conspiracy theories that surround them. He also provides a capsule biography of Casement, a chronology of his career, and a brief guide for further reading. A welcome additon to the voluminous literature on casement. -- G. Owens, Choice April, 1999

About this edition

• Publisher: Pimlico / Random House
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 071267375X
• ISBN 13: 9780712673754
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 274
• Editor: Roger Sawyer