River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

Upon returning to England, Burton faced condemnation from his compatriots for his failed expedition. Given his youth and good health, Speke recovered much faster from his wounds from the attack compared to Burton. In fact, shortly after returning to England, Speke left to fight in the Crimean War. While on his way to Constantinople, Speke met and befriended Laurence Oliphant. Oliphant, in contrast to Speke, was interested in battlefield strategy and proposed several ideas to British military commanders about how to win the war. Speke confessed to Oliphant that he was interested in returning to East Africa to lead his own expedition to find the source of the Nile.

Burton too left to fight in the Crimean War, although he arrived later than Speke. It took Burton much longer to recover his health. The wound from the javelin left Burton with a scarred face. He also tried to seek retribution for the death of Stroyan while he was recovering. Burton’s short time participating in the war solidified his disdain for the British military commanders. He viewed them as corrupt and incompetent. Despite this disdain, he attempted to help his compatriots win the war. Unbeknownst to Burton, he proposed ideas similar to Oliphant’s to the British military commanders.