Ugaz’s case is all too familiar in Peru, where powerful groups regularly use the courts to silence journalists by fabricating criminal allegations against them. Born in 1799, Cashel Greville Ross spent his early childhood in County Cork, apparently cared for by an aunt who was employed as a Governess for the daughters of the local landowner.

Romantic, by William Boyd - The Scotsman Book review: The Romantic, by William Boyd - The Scotsman

It is admirably and convincingly done, so much so that, after reading a chapter set in Pisa where Cashel meets Byron and Shelley, I consulted the index of Leslie Marchand’s incomparable edition of Byron’s letters and journals to see if there was any mention of Cashel, as there surely should have been since Boyd tells us that Byron’s interest in him was aroused when he was told that Cashel was a wounded veteran of Waterloo, though only an adolescent drummer-boy then. This is a perfectly enagaging read, it just isn't as enjoyable a journey as Any Human Heart, or The New Confessions for that matter. The historical events described are sketched not painted, and are with the exception of the 3rd Kandian War familar to me: Boyd's sketches offered nothing new cf. Literature, music and songs of the Tudor and Jacobean period were in vogue, and helped to lead artists from T. The Romantic is one of the books on the longlist for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 but it had been on my RADAR long before that.

The fictional biography of Cashel Greville Ross takes us from his beginnings as an orphan living with his aunt in rural Ireland through the many adventures and loves in his life. As Cashel pursues life’s ripening and turning point, he realizes that life is not about pursuing the ifs, the maybes, the wrong turnings, the dead ends. The release of Margy Kinmonth's cinema documentary, Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War in July 2022, has brought this artist once more into the news. People read things into Ravilious paintings and they may not be wrong, but I don't think there can be one single correct interpretation for any of them. It’s a global book with action variously in Cork, Ireland; the Netherlands/Belgium; London; Ooty southern India; Kandy ‘Ceylon’; Ravenna Italy; Arles France; Willow Creek, near Boston USA; Kazeh in the Lake Regions of Central Africa.

Romantic by William Boyd review – a fine ‘whole life The Romantic by William Boyd review – a fine ‘whole life

I’m still super proud of the old stuff – I think I tapped into a side of me that I didn’t even know was there, and I’m really glad for it. Dr Faustus conjuring Mephistopheles, 1928, from Christopher Marlowe's play, evokes the Elizabethan stage, fully relishing the drama but making his devil a rather sexy male nude.But as with Logan Mountstuart, the hero of Boyd’s masterwork, Any Human Heart, Cashel ultimately emerges as a one-off – an inimitable character, whether he knows it or not. Boyd is 70 this year and this is his 17th novel – there have also been collections of short stories, plays and film scripts. This marriage between the intimate and the epic continually produces striking vignettes that illuminate the wider narrative. I see people come from other places and they’re culturally overwhelmed by London”, she explains, “it’s addictive, it’s a special special city and nothing can replace it.