The source of the River Nile was one of the great mysteries of the Victorian age. On an expedition with Richard Burton which reached Lake Tanganyika, Speke went on alone to investigate rumours of the lake he would later name Victoria and proclaim the source of the Nile. This led to a furious dispute with Burton, and it was in the hope of proving his theory correct that Speke launched the expedition described in this book. One of the great journeys of Victorian exploration, the expedition would end in tragedy when Speke committed suicide before a debate with Burton at the Royal Geographical Society in London.