History Main / GentlemanAdventurer

* Sean Flynn, son of movie actor Errol Flynn, took photos of the Vietnam War for Time Magazine, GoingForTheBigScoop. He disappeared (and was apparently killed) while traveling by motorcycle in Cambodia some time around 1970. Flynn wasn't in Vietnam because he needed the money, and, according to Michael Herr in "Dispatches," none of the press corp respected him until they actually saw the photos he was taking. He occasionally left Vietnam to star in motion pictures, then returned to get shot at some more.

* Before he got into politics, Barry Goldwater was one of the first people to boat recreationally through the Grand Canyon (he rowed himself all the way to Lake Mead) flew relief missions in over 165 different kinds of aircraft all over the world (including over Mt. Everest) in the Second World War and Korean War, gave free flights home for returning veterans of both wars, pressured the Pentagon to support desegregation and the creation of an Air Force Academy, and still flew B-52s as a two-star general in the Air Force Reserve while a sitting Senator.

* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' doesn't travel as much as many of the other examples on this page, but he is implied to come from the gentry (as his family are said to be country squires), he is an expert at GoodOldFisticuffs, is often a SharpDressedMan, is impeccably courteous to women even despite his general dislike of them, is a GentlemanSnarker and AGentlemanAndAScholar, and one of the reasons he works as a consulting detective is to avoid RichBoredom, which to him is a FateWorseThanDeath.

* Lord John Roxton in Conan Doyle's ''Literature/TheLostWorld''.

* Parodied with the TwoFistedTale of "[[Franchise/{{Mistborn}} Allomancer Jak]]" in ''TheAlloyOfLaw''. Complete with [[DeadpanSnarker trusty Terrisman sidekick]], who edits his lurid accounts of the savage Roughs with copious [[FootnoteFever footnotes]], and designated DamselInDistress.

Practically all contemporary examples are deconstructions, in which the character turns out to be [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain bigoted]], [[MilesGloriosus cowardly]], and an utter {{Jerkass}} if not a full-blown EvilColonialist.

* Creator/AgathaChristie had a fair number of these in her novels. Sometimes, they would be the hero, such as Colonel Race who appears in several books, but sometimes subverted, as with Lombard, an amoral gun-for-hire in ''AndThenThereWereNone'' or whenever the traditional type turned out to be the murderer in the book.

May double as a BoldExplorer. Has some overlap with the AdventurerArchaeologist, GreatWhiteHunter and EgomaniacHunter.

* Julien Advent, Victorian Adventurer from the ''Literature/Nightside''. To the surprise of the main character, he's the real deal and genuine to boot, and one of the few people HardboiledDetective John Taylor would cry ManlyTears for.

* ''TheStainlessSteelRat'' once wrote a paper on this trope. He held that society moving past the stage where a man could be both a respected member of society (Gentleman) and totally apart from it (Adventurer) forced individuals to choose which they wanted to be, and stay with that choice for the rest of their lives. [=DiGriz=] himself chose to be outside of society, as a thief.

* Creator/JosephConrad. Sailed the seas and didn't even learn English until age 20 and changed the face of English literature. He was even literally referred to as a "gentleman adventurer" by William [=McCall=] in a forward to ''Conrad Argosy''.

* Before he got into politics, Barry Goldwater was one of the first people to boat recreationally through the Grand Canyon(he rowed himself all the way to Lake Mead) flew relief missions in over 165 different kinds of aircraft all over the world(including over Mt. Everest) in the Second World War and Korean War, gave free flights home for returning veterans of both wars, pressured the Pentagon to support desegregation and the creation of an Air Force Academy, and still flew B52s as a two-star general in the Air Force Reserve while a sitting Senator.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Safari O'Toole, in the episode of the same name. He is Mrs. Davis' faithful pen pal, and is noted for his travels through the wilds of DarkestAfrica. [[spoiler: He's also a fake.]]

'''Sanaa:''' Uh oh.

* ''Webcomic/NerfThis has this as a core concept.

* Parodied with the TwoFistedTale of "[[Franchise/{{Mistborn}} Allomancer Jak]]" in TheAlloyOfLaw. Complete with [[DeadpanSnarker trusty Terrisman sidekick]], who edits his lurid accounts of the savage Roughs with copious [[FootnoteFever footnotes]], and designated DamselInDistress.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Safari O'Toole, in the episode of the same name. He is Mrs. Davis' faithful pen pal, and is a noted for his travels through the wilds of DarkestAfrica. [[spoiler: He's also a fake.]]

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': Safari O'Toole, in the episode of the same name. He is Mrs. Davis faithful pen pal, and is a noted for his travels through the wilds of DarkestAfrica. [[spoiler: He's a fake.]]

* Film/JamesBond is in this tradition but in a darker direction -- there is a comment in either ''Film/CasinoRoyale'' or ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' that he is done playing "Cowboys and Indians", which [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this type of character's outlook. Of course, his determination to get out of the spy business never sticks.

* Creator/JamesCameron: for a given definition of "Gentleman," at least. Ever since ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' he's taken on deep-sea exploration and photography as his hobby.

* Modern example in ''[[VideoGame/PennyArcadeAdventures On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness]]'': [[PennyArcade Tycho and Gabe]]. Although they certainly run a detective agency (Startling Developments!), they certainly don't seem to have too many clients. Indeed, the entire plot of episode one begins with them following a very large robot out of ''curiosity''.