Another lovely story from William Boyd arrives this Autumn. Cashel Greville Ross is our hero, the eponymous ‘Romantic’.
As we’ve come to expect with this author, the tale is well-told, intriguing, and it brushes us up against real historical events (a walk-on role at the battle of Waterloo; hanging out with Lord Byron and his poetic chums on their Mediterranean meanderings), and teasing us with imagining that his story might also be true.
Ross’s unorthodox beginnings take him from an Irish village, to Europe, to America and back again, and Boyd’s skilful writing always brings us the scent of the briny Atlantic ocean, the stench of the battlefield, the lapping of the waves by the summer shore.
There’s a good dose of existential musings on life, relationships, the nature of fiction.Always thought-provoking, with Boyd in charge.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin/Viking for letting me read this beguiling novel early, and spread the word.
Izzy Brown 