Review of Broken Archangel - the tempestuous lives of Roger Casement by Roland Philipps

This thorough investigation of the life of Irish patriot, Sir Roger Casement, delves deep into the emotional waters of a man who lived a remarkable life and whose fame seems to have grown with the passing years. It was always going to be some story. An Irish man who rose from humble beginnings to the heights of the British diplomatic service at a time when Britain really did rule the waves. His achievements were such that he was knighted in 1912, retiring from the diplomatic service in July 1913 on a generous pension. Yet, just three short years later, the country that had honoured Casement was executing him for treason. Author, Roland Philipps does a good job in telling the story of the man who exposed Belgian's imperial abuse in the Congo and further abuses, including slavery, by the Peruvian Amazon Company in South America, then became a fervent Irish Republican. It was the same passion for justice that drove his early exposes on behalf of the British government that led later to his efforts to secure an independent Ireland. He'd seen the damage caused by imperialism at first hand, hence the need to free his own people from under that yoke. The subject of such a life is not surprisingly a conflicted individual. Philipps is constantly seeking to probe below the surface to find answers. Whilst very thorough in his approach, the reader is left wondering whether he really does totally nail his man Some of the staging of the book seems a bit odd, such as not revealing that his mother died when he was nine and father three years later, until 80 pages in. The author, instead, heads straight to the Congo and the diplomatic service in the early pages. There is plenty of time given to Casement's hidden homosexual activities recorded in his diaries. The diaries being an item of growing significance, particularly, following his arrest and charging with treason in 1916. The selected use of the diaries to brief journalists and politicians prior and post his trial show the British establishment at its most duplicitous. This deliberate act was done to help ensure Casement's conviction, whilst also muddying his reputation worldwide in order to stave off dangers of martyrdom. As the years have gone by, with a now more tolerant society, the revulsion at what happened to this principled man has led to the martyrdom that those shadowy British establishment figures feared, being realised. It has,though, taken a long time, with Casement's body only being disinterred from the grounds of Pentonville Prison in 1965 to return for an Irish state funeral in Dublin. There have been accusations that the "black diaries" were fakes but Philipps comes down firmly on the side of authenticity. The author does a good job of getting below the surface of Casement. A man who was christened both Catholic and Protestant, dying the former, whilst fighting for Irish freedom. Casement's journey brings contact with the likes of Joseph Conrad, Bernard Shaw and Alice Stopford Green. The title of the book is drawn from a comment made by TE Lawrence just before he died in 1935. Lawrence revealed how he would like to write about Casement ,"so that his enemies would think I was with them till they had finished reading it and rose from my book to call him a hero. He has the appeal of a broken archangel. " It is also unclear whether the author likes Casement or not, which is probably sign of a good objective job done. Stylistically, Casement's early life up to 1913 is clear to follow: exposing human rights abuses in the Congo, then the South American expose, less so the final three years. There is a certain disjointedness in the sections on his time in Germany during World War I trying to get support for independence and his failed effort to get the weapons into Ireland for the Easter Rising. Also, his efforts to stop the Rising. There are some inaccuracies, such as naming Eoin MacNeill as chairman of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), when he headed the Irish Volunteers Militia and was manipulated by the IRB. The reader is in many ways left wanting to know more. Roland Philipps has certainly made a valuable contribution to a wider understanding and appreciation of Sir Roger Casement - a remarkable man - human rights activist turned Irish freedom fighter. There could be more but overall this work offers a long overdue appreciation of a true Irish hero. Published by Bodley Head, £25