History Main / GentlemanAdventurer

A DeadHorseTrope which used to be common in adventure, mystery, and espionage fiction where the hero was an independently wealthy (or at least doesn't do much work for a living) "gentleman of leisure" whose adventures were initially motivated by a [[InHarmsWay lust for adventure]] and [[RichBoredom hatred of idleness]], even if the character ultimately acted for heroic/patriotic motives.

* Sir Malcolm Murray from ''Series/PennyDreadful'' is a Victorian aristocrat and hardened explorer of ventures into Africa. A DeconstructedCharacterArchetype since it's made evident that his "adventures" basically consisted of slaughtering his way across a continent in the name of wealth and glory.

* TruthInTelevision: UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt.

* George Gordon, Lord Byron: Poet, Aristocrat, [[ByronicHero Infamous]] {{Jerkass}} womanizer, and by virtue of this trope... a national hero in a country that absolutely had nothing to do with his own. Mercilessly deconstructed: Byron actually had none of the training necessary to be even mildly effective as a soldier or military commander, and his romanticized idea of heroic warfare was met with the [[WarIsHell far harsher realities]]: [[RealityEnsues he died of septicemia without ever taking the field.]] One could argue that his celebrity status led to AcquiredSituationalNarcissism, and he thought he would be great at warfare by virtue of being great at everything else, but things ended [[BreaktheHaughty differently than they did in his poems]].

** Although not so rich, at least at the street of his career. In ''Literature/AStudyInScarlet'', he takes in Watson as a housemate because he cannot afford the rent on 221B Baker Street on his own.
* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' has this as being part of Nightingale's backstory. Between the wars he was out adventuring in the British Empire, India, and Far East, discovering all sorts of magical strife and acting as a one man trouble shooting squad. Then [=WW2=] and [[HeroicBSOD Ettersberg]] happened.

* ''Literature/BulldogDrummond'' is a classic inter-war version, often seen as a bit of a thug and accidental deconstruction by later standards.

* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'': Professor Layton spends his first game solving an inheritance issue (and lots and lots of puzzles) without any thought for reward or concern for expense. He certainly qualifies as a [[QuintessentialBritishGentleman gentleman]], although whether he's an adventurer depends on how dangerous you think matchstick puzzles are. [[spoiler:Extremely, as it turns out.]] Aside from puzzles, he is a skilled fencer, and regularly makes his own way out of dangerous situations, [[spoiler:such as using what's lying around to create a homemade glider and a ''machine gun''.]]

He is typically ([[QuintessentialBritishGentleman very]]) British and/or from the VictorianLondon era, not only because the mentioned kinds of fiction proliferated in that time, but also because the Victorian ideal of adventuring usually expected the funder, the expeditionary and the scientist to be [[RenaissanceMan the same person]], who had usually to be a well-educated and even better-to-do eccentric in order to meet the three requirements.

* Franchise/ProfessorLayton spends his first game solving an inheritance issue (and lots and lots of puzzles) without any thought for reward or concern for expense. He certainly qualifies as a [[QuintessentialBritishGentleman gentleman]], although whether he's an adventurer depends on how dangerous you think matchstick puzzles are. [[spoiler:Extremely, as it turns out.]] Aside from puzzles, he is a skilled fencer, and regularly makes his own way out of dangerous situations, [[spoiler:such as using what's lying around to create a homemade glider and a ''machine gun''.]]

* Bilbo and later Frodo in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Neither of them had obvious means of support (Though it's implied that they did receive a substantial inheritance, Bilbo from his mother and Frodo from Bilbo), and they lived relatively well. Neither wanted adventure at first, but after some prodding found they had a talent and a taste for it. Contrast this to Frodo's companions Merry and Pippin, who were both heirs to working farm estates, and Sam, who was an actual handyman/laborer. We never find out much about Fatty Bolger's source of income.

* ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo''.

Some 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.

A DeadHorseTrope which used to be common in adventure, mystery, and espionage fiction where the hero was an independently wealthy (or at least doesn't do much work for a living) "gentleman of leisure" whose adventures were initially motivated by a [[InHarmsWay lust for adventure]] and [[RichBoredom hatred of idleness]], even if the character ultimately acted for heroic/patriotic motives. He is typically British and/or from the Victorian era, not only because the mentioned kinds of fiction proliferated in that time, but also because the Victorian ideal of adventuring usually expected the funder, the expeditionary and the scientist to be the same person, who had usually to be a well-educated and even better-to-do eccentric in order to meet the three requirements.

May double as a BoldExplorer and have some overlap with the AdventurerArchaeologist, GreatWhiteHunter and EgomaniacHunter. Is a perfect adversary for the GentlemanThief, unless of course he ''is'' the Gentleman Thief living a double life. It seems probable that the RichIdiotWithNoDayJob is an outgrowth of this character type.

Often ends up a CoolOldGuy and insists on wearing an overblown AdventurerOutfit. His DistaffCounterpart is the LadyOfAdventure, and if he ''marries'' one you can expect a BattleCouple.

A DeadHorseTrope which used to be common in adventure, mystery, and espionage fiction where the hero was an independently wealthy (or at least doesn't do much work for a living) "gentleman of leisure" whose adventures were initially motivated by a [[InHarmsWay lust for adventure]] and [[RichBoredom hatred of idleness]], even if the character ultimately acted for heroic/patriotic motives. It seems probable that the RichIdiotWithNoDayJob is an outgrowth of this character type.

May double as a BoldExplorer. Has some overlap with the AdventurerArchaeologist, GreatWhiteHunter and EgomaniacHunter. Is a perfect adversary for the GentlemanThief, unless of course he ''is'' the Gentleman Thief living a double life.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' seems to suggest that "Doc" Brown is a subversion. He was rich enough to own a huge mansion in 1955, but by 1985 he's a recluse living in a garage (the mansion burned down according to a newspaper article seen in the opening) and says he spent his entire family fortune to pay for his TimeTravel experiments. By the second film, he's acquired a briefcase full of cash from different eras. Considering his objection to Marty using future knowledge to bet on sports, how he acquired this money is unexplained.

* 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.

* Naturally, Col. Horace Gentleman of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' ("[=RAF=], [=MI5=], etcetera... retired") who is, admittedly, a takeoff on Quatermain and Bond, with elements of racism and pederasty by way of William S. Burroughs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys''[='s=] Sir Nigel Archibald Thornberry, who maintains a gentlemanly disposition even when interacting with vicious jungle animals. In fact, he was knighted by the Queen of England just before leaving to film his nature program, "Nigel Thornberry's Wild World".

* Creator/JamesCameron: for a given definition of "Gentleman," at least. Ever since ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' he's taken on deep-sea exploration and photography as his hobby.

* ''Franchise/TombRaider'': Lara Croft

* In ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels]] at least, the desire to quit playing Cowboys and Indians actually referred to his decision to quit having fun catching field agents and to start striking directly at SMERSH, the subsection of the KGB that enforced undying loyalty to the Soviet Union. This was right after the fear that SMERSH was after her drove [[spoiler:Vesper]] to suicide in ''Literature/CasinoRoyale''.

* ''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 s GentlemanAndAScholar, and one of the reasons he works as a consulting detective is to avoid RichBoredom, which to him is a FateWorseThanDeath.

* Arsène Lupin III of ''Franchise/LupinIII'', gentleman thief. He's such a discerning burglar that he once broke into someone's house only to leave a note letting the owner know that he would return once the reproductions were replaced with something worth stealing. Probably a ShoutOut to the original ''Literature/ArseneLupin'', who did the exact same thing.

* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' has this as being part of Nightingale's backstory. Between the wars he was out adventuring in the British Empire, India, and Far East, discovering all sorts of magical strife and acting as a one man trouble shooting squad. Then WW2 and [[HeroicBSOD Ettersberg]] happened.

* Sean Flynn, son of movie actor Creator/ErrolFlynn, took photos of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar for Magazine/TimeMagazine , 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.