All the Brothers Were Valiant originally appeared in Everybody's Magazine (April and May 1919) with illustrations by N. C. Wyeth and released as a book the same year. It takes place on a ship during the 1850s in the South Pacific, and is a pulpy melodrama concerning a conflict between two brothers over money, a woman and power. One brother is a rouge, the other upstanding. It wraps up neatly and quickly, though not believable, it is a soothing balm from reality, the characters play out in exotic locations with a lust of life.

The story was subsequently made into three movies (1923, 1928, 1953). The 1923 silent starred Lon Chaney and is now lost, destroyed in an MGM fire in 1965. It was faithful to the book. It was remade in 1928 as Across to Singapore with changes to the plot but with the same character names and themes, starring Joan Crawford. It was remade again in 1953 in Technicolor starring Elizabeth Taylor's brother Robert (but not Elizabeth who declined a part). It's remarkable this was filmed three times. It's not that strong as a novel, but the 1953 film version is an improvement, smoothing over some fiddly spots.

A war between brothers is in both title and author. The title is derived from an epitaph by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle (1593-1676) to his wife Margaret, the later had three valiant brothers who fought in the English Civil War: "It was a noble family, for all the Brothers were Valiant, and all the Sisters virtuous". Williams was born in Mississippi a relative of Confederate General Longstreet, though Maine became his adopted home. His most serious work is a two volume multi-generational epic on the (American) Civil War, House Divided which he worked on up to his death. He was most popular during the 1920s with magazine short stories in the Saturday Evening Post, where he pushed boundaries on what was possible with the form.

Timeless tale that will be enjoyed by everyone!
Poignant-and thought provoking!
Beautifully read