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The Trial of Roger Casement
“ The extraordinary life of Roger Casement: celebrated humanitarian and condemned Irish revolutionary ”
In 1911, Roger Casement was knighted by King George V for his groundbreaking humanitarian work in Africa and South America. Five years later, he was hanged for treason. The Trial of Roger Casement charts the events that led a man renowned for his compassion to the noose.
Based on real events, Fionnuala Doran’s absorbing graphic novel explores Casement’s startling downfall, from his efforts to secure German backing for an independent Ireland to his disastrous return home and subsequent arrest. Condemned as a revolutionary, his sexuality laid bare by the circulation of his private journals, Casement’s fate was all but sealed. And yet, on his final day in the courtroom, he delivered a brave, impassioned speech that would resonate long after his death.
In 1911, Roger Casement was knighted by King George V for his groundbreaking humanitarian work in Africa and South America. Five years later, he was hanged for treason. The Trial of Roger Casement charts the events that led a man renowned for his compassion to the noose.
Based on real events, Fionnuala Doran’s absorbing graphic novel explores Casement’s startling downfall, from his efforts to secure German backing for an independent Ireland to his disastrous return home and subsequent arrest. Condemned as a revolutionary, his sexuality laid bare by the circulation of his private journals, Casement’s fate was all but sealed. And yet, on his final day in the courtroom, he delivered a brave, impassioned speech that would resonate long after his death.
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 4, 2017
Having recently read the novel 'Valiant Gentlemen' about Sir Roger Casement, I was intrigued by this graphic novel rendition of his story, even though not a great fan of the genre in general. I thought Doran's treatment not only fairly superficial, but also that the pictures did not particularly add anything to the story, especially during the last 30 or so pages, which present Casement's trial summation verbatim and just alternates between shots of him and reaction shots of the courtroom. If one didn't already know a lot about Casement, I would think this would be hard to follow, unless one read the three page synopsis of his life at the END of the book first. Still, can be read in an hour, so not a total time waste.
October 10, 2018
The Trial of Roger Casement
Fionnuala Doran
Fionnuala Doran is an Irish artist who lives and works in Scotland and England. She did the text and the graphics.
Roger Casement was a diplomat with the British Consular Service. He served in Africa and Peru and was knighted in 1911. His experiences gradually led him to question the validity and ethics of colonialism. He also strongly objected to British control of Ireland.
After seeking German support for Irish rebels, Casement was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. This leads to his courtroom statement of what is just, ethical, right, and of enduring value. This clearly is the main point of this book. Following the trial there is "evidence" that is used to smear Casement's reputation. The evidence was probably true, and was effectively used to suppress sentiment favoring Casement.
While this is a worthy story to tell, there are some problems. Most annoyingly, this story was not adapted well to a graphic novel form. Nearly all of the story was told through text bubbles. The graphics often felt like background noise, often lacking relevance to the text, and often a distraction. Where other graphic novels have used graphics to effectively and concisely express emotional content, this work lacked that presentation.
This was a fast but frustrating read.
Fionnuala Doran
Fionnuala Doran is an Irish artist who lives and works in Scotland and England. She did the text and the graphics.
Roger Casement was a diplomat with the British Consular Service. He served in Africa and Peru and was knighted in 1911. His experiences gradually led him to question the validity and ethics of colonialism. He also strongly objected to British control of Ireland.
After seeking German support for Irish rebels, Casement was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. This leads to his courtroom statement of what is just, ethical, right, and of enduring value. This clearly is the main point of this book. Following the trial there is "evidence" that is used to smear Casement's reputation. The evidence was probably true, and was effectively used to suppress sentiment favoring Casement.
While this is a worthy story to tell, there are some problems. Most annoyingly, this story was not adapted well to a graphic novel form. Nearly all of the story was told through text bubbles. The graphics often felt like background noise, often lacking relevance to the text, and often a distraction. Where other graphic novels have used graphics to effectively and concisely express emotional content, this work lacked that presentation.
This was a fast but frustrating read.
April 28, 2017
So, I only vaguely recalled the name Roger Casement, a man who was honored, esteemed and admired in Ireland and vilified as a traitor in England. I almost certainly had not known he was gay. This is 1916 history, of which I knew/recalled little, so had a bit of a challenge following it at times. The story circles around again to the ending, the thing he is most known for, maybe, a powerful speech that is pretty much quoted verbatim.
I thought the artwork was solid, and did a good job of telling the story, though the story did still require a lot of words. There’s a 3 page detailed synopsis at the end of the book that helped, and led me to reread the story again. A freedom fighter’s story! (Oh, did I just pick sides in this political debate?! I would need to read and know more to really do that with any conviction, but I did find a lot to admire about him here. ).
I thought the artwork was solid, and did a good job of telling the story, though the story did still require a lot of words. There’s a 3 page detailed synopsis at the end of the book that helped, and led me to reread the story again. A freedom fighter’s story! (Oh, did I just pick sides in this political debate?! I would need to read and know more to really do that with any conviction, but I did find a lot to admire about him here. ).
March 13, 2022
I feel bad rating this so low, I really wanted to like this graphic novel. Alas, two stars is the maximum I could give it.
This is largely do to the story being poorly structured in my opinion, the art itself does some interesting things panel to panel. Somehow, though Roger Casement's life was very interesting, that does not come across but it is a perfectly good explanation or overview of who he was and how he came to be executed.
I'd almost say that this would be a great addition to a history classroom but I can't see many schools loving the sexual imagery on a few pages.
I don't mind sex acts being depicted but they seemed to suggest that porn was found in Casement's 'black diaries' but I haven't found any source for that online. Even if that is the case, depicting gay porn (particularly in the style within the graphic novel) was odd and jarring. Which I accept, was probably the point.
The one thing this book has done, is made me want to revisit my local museum which has an exhibit on Casement. I feel that there's been a lot of general misinformation about him taught to me over the years.
This is largely do to the story being poorly structured in my opinion, the art itself does some interesting things panel to panel. Somehow, though Roger Casement's life was very interesting, that does not come across but it is a perfectly good explanation or overview of who he was and how he came to be executed.
I'd almost say that this would be a great addition to a history classroom but I can't see many schools loving the sexual imagery on a few pages.
I don't mind sex acts being depicted but they seemed to suggest that porn was found in Casement's 'black diaries' but I haven't found any source for that online. Even if that is the case, depicting gay porn (particularly in the style within the graphic novel) was odd and jarring. Which I accept, was probably the point.
The one thing this book has done, is made me want to revisit my local museum which has an exhibit on Casement. I feel that there's been a lot of general misinformation about him taught to me over the years.
November 17, 2022
Obscure(d) queer history
Roger Casement’s role in history is not well-known. He distinguished himself early in the 20th century as a British government agent who exposed imperialist atrocities in Africa and South America. For those achievements, he was knighted. Casement, an Irishman, then became involved in the Irish independence movement, which involved courting the support of Germany around the start of World War I. He was also a closeted gay man—although it’s unclear how large a role that played in his persecution (probably more than was acknowledged). At any rate, he was found guilty of treason and executed by the British government.
Doran’s graphic narrative does an uneven job of telling Casement’s story. Throughout the book, the images are sometimes too opaque to decipher, the time frames hop around, and the complex narrative is not always as clear as it could be. Thankfully, a three-page timeline/appendix concludes the book and clarifies any lingering ambiguities from the text.
It’s rather brief, so it’s worth a read if you’re a fan of history and/or queer history, but you might end up feeling, as I do, that the book could have been so much better than it is.
Roger Casement’s role in history is not well-known. He distinguished himself early in the 20th century as a British government agent who exposed imperialist atrocities in Africa and South America. For those achievements, he was knighted. Casement, an Irishman, then became involved in the Irish independence movement, which involved courting the support of Germany around the start of World War I. He was also a closeted gay man—although it’s unclear how large a role that played in his persecution (probably more than was acknowledged). At any rate, he was found guilty of treason and executed by the British government.
Doran’s graphic narrative does an uneven job of telling Casement’s story. Throughout the book, the images are sometimes too opaque to decipher, the time frames hop around, and the complex narrative is not always as clear as it could be. Thankfully, a three-page timeline/appendix concludes the book and clarifies any lingering ambiguities from the text.
It’s rather brief, so it’s worth a read if you’re a fan of history and/or queer history, but you might end up feeling, as I do, that the book could have been so much better than it is.
April 4, 2021
This is a graphic biography of Roger Casement--born in Ireland, researched human rights abuses in late-1800s Africa for the UK, knighted, became involved in the Irish independence movement, recruited British-Irish POWS in Germany to fight for Ireland, gained minimal support from Germany, caught, tried, executed in 1916. He gave a now-famous speech at his trial and is now seen as either a patriot or a traitor (depending on who is opining, Irish or British) and as a gay icon (though it sounds like it is still unclear if his journals were real or faked by those prosecuting him).
You know when you read a book and most of what you learn is how you don't know anything? That was this for me. I found this through GR's "other people enjoyed" function after I read Grass--libraries here still aren't open for browsing, so this was my way of browsing. I had never heard of Roger Casement. I found the storyline in this book to be a little confusing--but I also think it assumes a basic knowledge of Roger Casement is assumed, which is fair enough (the publisher is in London). I also realized that most of my knowledge of Irish history is really early/mid 19th century history. I know nothing. I know a little bit more now.
You know when you read a book and most of what you learn is how you don't know anything? That was this for me. I found this through GR's "other people enjoyed" function after I read Grass--libraries here still aren't open for browsing, so this was my way of browsing. I had never heard of Roger Casement. I found the storyline in this book to be a little confusing--but I also think it assumes a basic knowledge of Roger Casement is assumed, which is fair enough (the publisher is in London). I also realized that most of my knowledge of Irish history is really early/mid 19th century history. I know nothing. I know a little bit more now.
December 6, 2020
I found the story interesting but wasn’t sure about the graphics- - many nearly black pages and confusing flashbacks. Also Roger’s face keeps changing and often the characters do not have eyes. There are also lots of drawings of interlocking hands- I didn’t get the point. I probably gave it 3 stars because it is a good story!
I read this book as I had previously heard of Casement and wanted to understand why he went from a British consular role, campaigning against abuse in the Congo and Peru to someone who was declared a traitor. He also spoke against the prisoner of war camps/ concentration camps in the Boer war. He didn’t think that he was a traitor as he was helping the Irish and in court in a famous speech claimed that the treason law was English only and that he should have been tried by an Irish court - ie he was not working against his own people. There was no chance of this as on his arrest he was quickly transferred from Ireland to England. Clemency was appealed for but there was a further scandal as his diaries had been found and they showed that he was homosexual. As society was homophobic there was no real call for this. The story makes you realise about how everything depends on one’s perspective.
I read this book as I had previously heard of Casement and wanted to understand why he went from a British consular role, campaigning against abuse in the Congo and Peru to someone who was declared a traitor. He also spoke against the prisoner of war camps/ concentration camps in the Boer war. He didn’t think that he was a traitor as he was helping the Irish and in court in a famous speech claimed that the treason law was English only and that he should have been tried by an Irish court - ie he was not working against his own people. There was no chance of this as on his arrest he was quickly transferred from Ireland to England. Clemency was appealed for but there was a further scandal as his diaries had been found and they showed that he was homosexual. As society was homophobic there was no real call for this. The story makes you realise about how everything depends on one’s perspective.
January 25, 2020
Casement is without doubt a fascinating character and his work on the abuse of colonial power in Africa and Latin America major important work. This clearly fed into his strong feelings about Irish home rule. Doran's graphic novel is an interesting introduction to the final years of his life and is at times powerful, but it is Casement's words that are powerful and create a strong argument for home rule and against his sentence. Even show, Doran's artwork and story construction are interesting, if not straightforward, cutting back from the court case to points in his life over the previous six years. I'm glad I read it, but I feel it could have been better. The production of the book is excellent and a pleasure to hold.
August 24, 2023
I've read two books on Roger Casement and could not understand the story this book tried to tell. If you want to learn about Roger Casement DO NOT read this book. The author jumped back and forth between years and places confusing just part of the story of his life as she left out a lot. The pallette was bad and color, given the countries involved, could have been so creative. The drawing was awful and some squares just had lines drawing nothing. The imagery also did not fit. It was a cluster.
January 31, 2019
This a good graphic novel that tells an interesting story but left me wanting more. It is a mere outline of the events leading to Sir Roger Casement’s trial. The speech at the trial is very inspired but doesn’t make up for the lack of story detail. Still worth the read and maybe further investigation.
November 29, 2024
3.5/5
Lovely art and the story balanced humour with such an interesting yet sad story. I’m not all too familiar with Irish history so it was good to learn about someone through graphic novel, however I feel like the story was a little hard to follow sometimes and for someone pretty new to Irish history it was tough to take everything in when the story oscillated between timelines.
Lovely art and the story balanced humour with such an interesting yet sad story. I’m not all too familiar with Irish history so it was good to learn about someone through graphic novel, however I feel like the story was a little hard to follow sometimes and for someone pretty new to Irish history it was tough to take everything in when the story oscillated between timelines.
June 26, 2017
(3.5/5) I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. It was interesting to learn more about a period in history from a perspective I had no idea about. I also thought it was important seeing how casements legacy was distorted by his personal life and the wrongfulness of it all.
October 6, 2023
Whilst the actual history is very interesting, the art and storytelling in this book just made it, put plainly, really hard to follow. For me, the summary at the end explained more of the story than the previous 130 pages had.
February 23, 2018
Very interesting
December 3, 2020
the start was pretty muddled but the rendering of his speech at trial was very good and cool
June 5, 2021
The artwork is excellent and Doran structures the story of Casement's final years well, moving back and forward in time.
December 19, 2024
A disappointing, confusing, nonsensical telling of what, I believe, is a good man's story. I wouldn't know because this graphic novel was so badly written. The drawing was superb, though.
December 8, 2025
Where is the movie or great novelization of this tortured and heroic life?
March 14, 2017
Very hard to follow history of a very important person in Irish history, worth reading just to learn more about him.
February 3, 2017
Not my cup of tea, though the idea of a gay man who is a hero in Ireland and a traitor in England is interesting enough for me to keep reading. I think I should just be happy with the essay I read.
October 30, 2020
Loved it. I've been wanting to read a graphic novel, but never could transition away from linear/paragraph reading. Found one about history- loved it. Not only Irish history ,but a gay person making history- jackpot!
May 6, 2018
Fionnula Doran's graphic novel is something to be celebrated. The artwork is powerful to match the storytelling. I want more from this work and I want to know more of Casement.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews