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Set against this refulgent blue surface are low-lying buildings of white coraline stone, interspersed with the vivid green of palm trees, tamarind and fig. Closer to shore, a mephitic stink becomes more evident – rotting fish and putrid mud, charcoal smoke and human filth, overlaid by the cloying perfume of cloves. The smell of Zanzibar. One hundred thousand people live on this small island, crammed into the noisome, narrow alleyways of the old town, and their effluvia is everywhere. I was 17 when I got signed and swooped up into the industry side of things. It was really fun and exciting, you know; we were hustling, we were doing this pop thing. But, I always found myself coming head to head with them, and feeling like I wasn’t being true to myself in one way or another. In the end it wasn’t for me, I’m too controlling, and I want to be able to make music the way I want to do it.” Two strong women become central to the story; Contessa Raphaella Rezzo; and widow Mrs Frances (Frannie) Broome. Both women are interesting but from their character descriptions, and their actions, it becomes difficult to differentiate between the two, who occupy different parts of the world, and the narrative. Boyd uses the description ‘cavaliere servante’ to describe Raphaella.
The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between - Waterstones The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between - Waterstones
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 Romantic has been compared by other readers to one of William Boyd’s earlier books, Any Human Heart, which is also a ‘whole life’ story, albeit set in a different period. I haven’t read that book although it is on my virtual TBR pile. Chapter 9 considers Revivalism quoting Laurence Binyon from 1913 “We cannot discard the past ... we must remould it in the fires of our necessities, we must make it new and our own.” The Romantic is certainly one of those. I absolutely adored this story and it goes up there as one of my books of the year.A gloriously old-fashioned and sumptuous read. William Boyd is as good as ever as he ages. He's now in his Seventies and his writing is as fine as ever. This is a "whole life" novel telling the fictional story of Cashel Greville Ross, whose long life spans the 19th Century. Wandering through Africa wasn’t that much different, in a sense, from wandering through London, or Paris, or Boston. You thought the road ahead was obvious and well marked but more often than not the destination you had so clearly in mind would never be reached. Never. Things got in the way. There were diversions, problems, changes of mind, changes of heart… Drawn to War reveals that the work he left when he died was stored by his great friend Edward Bawden underneath a bed at his home in Great Bardfield until restored to his three children in 1972, the year of the first retrospective since his memorial exhibition. If there is a flaw it lies in the author being primarily a biographer of art (Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell, John Minton, Duncan Grant, Gwen Raverat and the Pipers have all been covered by her in the past) so the image of the era is 'coloured' by an anecdotal approach which does not always enlighten. He is to become a commissioned army officer in the East India Company in Madras, but taking a moral stand in Ceylon has him return to explore Europe, and to write about his travels. In Pisa and Lerici, he meets and gets to know Mary and Percy Shelley, Lord 'Albe' Byron and Claire Clairemont, becoming privy to the tangle of intrigue and rivalries within the group. He encounters the love of his life in Ravenna, unavailable, a passionate love which will endure, despite barely seeing each other through the years once he leaves Italy. Whilst becoming a successful author, he is swindled by his publisher, which lands him in debtor's prison, only to embark on a new life in America on release, then go on a expedition to find the source of the Nile, there he meets Richard Burton. He is to get caught up in a Greek antiquities scandal as the Nicaraguan Consul in Trieste, this puts hims in such danger that he goes in hiding in Venice.
The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between Two World Wars
Following the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the idea took hold that Austria had been the first casualty of Hitler’s aggression when in 1938 it was incorporated into the Third Reich.’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. The Flashman Papers. All biography is fiction, but fiction that has to fit the documented facts.’ - Donald Rayfield, Anton Chekhov: A Life. I love those books with a big sweeping story you can just sink into and lose yourself. A bit like the literary version of a big comfy blanket in Autumn. A wonderful romp through the 19th century, mixing fact and fiction seamlessly. Our hero manages to, amongst other things, get involved in the Battle of Waterloo, mix with Byron and Shelley in Italy, help find the source of the River Nile, become the author of best selling books and have an 60 year love affair. This was a wonderfully crafted cradle to grave story of Cashel Greville Ross. Written as a fictional biography Boyd weaves in true historical events and people giving us a insightful sweep into 19th century life spanning many countries and continents. I enjoyed reading about Ross as a character and all of his adventures and relationships. A great immersive story.
Romantic by William Boyd review – a fine ‘whole life The Romantic by William Boyd review – a fine ‘whole life
After a brief introduction, setting out Spurling’s vision of the plurality of British visual art in the inter-war period, she sets out trends and movements in twelve chapters. This book confirms, however, that if Europe is often a matter of conscious movements and ideologies, the English do not take easily to them or to any committed step away from individual responses to materials and environment. Gayford on post-second world war art showed us much the same. Delectable ... the joy and intense interest of this book will come courtesy of the attention given by its scholarly but always readable author to less well-known names' A fantastical, fabulous journey that sees Ross present at the battle of Waterloo, befriend Shelley and Byron in Italy, become a farmer in America and an explorer in Africa. Along the way he finds love several times but most significantly with Raphaella who he can never truly forget. I think the only time Cashel makes the running is in affairs of the heart and the name of the book is apt. He is a true romantic. From affairs of the heart to wanting to be a success at anything, Cashel Ross finds himself generally outplayed, outwitted and taken advantage of at every turn.As i finished the book, I found myself thinking at first that the end - Ross's death - felt a tad underwhelming. On reflection, though, I think the manner and location of his demise were really appropriate, reflecting the nature of his life, somewhat rootless and geographically random. It was right that he went that way.
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