A Dashing Fellow

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.

Boyd is an excellent storyteller, I've read several of his books and I was immediately drawn in to this novel, which follows the life of Cashel Greville Ross, a fictional character born in 1799. The protagonist’s adventures take him from Ireland to Oxford, to the battle of Waterloo, to India, and to encounters with real historical figures such as Lord Byron and the Shelleys, as well as other countless compelling situations. Each time Cashel hopes that the next episode in his life will be more fortuitous, that life will be fairer and that he will finally find his true self. I really loved this book. Highly recommended. Thank you Netgalley for the arc

Thoroughly enjoyed it. It was different from his other books, which I have also enjoyed - I found this well researched and fascinating - what a life! But I suppose it sums up life in the 19th century through the eyes of one person who lived it.

At the beginning of this story of Cashel Greville Ross's life, we are in Ireland. By the end we have been all round Europe, to the USA and to Africa. Cashel was a well travelled man who fell in and out of fortune.

Boyd does this type of novel particularly well. It is vast in its scope, covering most of the nineteenth century and ensuring that its hero is present at significant events and meets significant people of the time. Thus we are taken to the battle of Waterloo where fifteen year old Cashel is a drummer boy. We go to Italy where we meet Byron and the Shelleys. We travel through uncharted Africa in search of the source of the Nile and watch as Cashel becomes involved in the controversy between the explorers Speke and Burton over where exactly this is. Boyd takes well known events and provides alternative explanations for them, such as the suicide of Speke. It is a fascinating novel which reminded me a little of my favourite Boyd novel, Every Human Heart.

I loved this story and recommend it wholeheartedly. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC,

This is a stunning, immersive read by one of my favourite authors. I loved it! I have been drifting around since I finished it, after being so involved in Cashel Greville Ross’s life and adventures, and am not ready to stop thinking about this book. It’s beautifully written with so many great details that make you think you’re there, experiencing the ups and downs with the hero as he travels around the globe. I found Cashel to be a likeable, impulsive and appealing character. The title is a good one - he’s a romantic and follows his heart. There’s plenty going on in this absorbing novel and I loved the sweeping tour of the 1800s that I embarked upon when reading it. Very highly recommended!

The Romantic is a fictional biography of a man named Cashel Greville Ross, born in 1799. His life spans the history of the 19th century, encompassing major events like the Battle of Waterloo, and his travels to Italy and Africa, discovering the source of the Nile. I particularly liked how Ross's story included well-known people like Byron, Shelley, and Mary Shelley, and how the personal mistakes Ross made weren't glossed over.

William Boyd brings historical novels alive as few contemporary writers are able to do and I enjoyed this almost as much as I enjoyed Any Human Heart. Certainly one for all his many fans. Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the opportunity to read and review The Romantic.

Boyd is an excellent storyteller and I was immediately drawn in to this novel, which follows the life of Cashel Greville Ross, a fictional character born in 1799. The protagonist’s adventures take him from Ireland to Oxford, then to the battle of Waterloo, then to India, and to encounters with real historical figures such as Lord Byron and the Shelleys, as well as other countless compelling situations. Each time Cashel hopes that the next episode in his life will be more fortuitous, that life will be fairer and that he will finally find his true self – he could be speaking for so many of us! I really loved this book. Nowadays I'm finding it harder to come across a novel that I'd much rather be reading than viewing on a screen and this is certainly one of them. Other characters in the novel had real vitality in the way they were portrayed and my imagination was fired by Cashel’s many adventures. Highly recommended.

I never thought I would DNF a William Boyd book but I could not get engrossed in this one. I never warmed to Cashel, and his exploits left me cold. I gave up just before 50% which had taken me three days whereas a book of fewer than four hundred pages would usually take me a couple of days to complete. As always, the book is well written with a lovely vocabulary but, for me, something was missing. The formatting of the footnotes is off but I am sure that will have been corrected in the final version. With thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read and review a e-ARC of this title.

At last, a book this year that is a "straight" story with no jumping back in forward in time or "point of view" chapters with different characters. This is a good old fashioned "history" of the life of Cashel Greville Ross in the style of his memoirs from birth straight through to death. The only conceit is that sometimes there are little footnotes explaining certain things, some "hand drawn sketches" of areas and house layouts, little bits of "evidence" so that novel reads more like an autobiography.

Cashel is borna as a result of a liaison between his mother (who he believes to eb his aunt for many years) a governess and her employer and Anglo Irish aristocrat. We follow Cashel as he traverses the globe trying to make his way in life. Along the way he meets Byron and the Shelley's, spends time in the Marshalsea, liives in America and explores Africa. Much of his adult life is dominated by the after effects of an illicit love affair. It was an engaging and "comforting" read. A few storylines went nowhere or were resolved in a line or two ( such as an opium addiction) but I enjoyed spending time with Cashel on his life's journey.

Regrets? I’ve had a few.

Being the biography of Cashel Greville Ross, born in Ireland in 1799, buried in Venice over eighty years later, a picaresque, episodic narrative, reminiscent of Barry Lyndon or one of those Victorian novels originally serialised in a magazine.

Ross, the illegitimate son of the big house, a drummer boy at Waterloo, an officer in the Indian Army refusing to carry out an atrocity, by his late twenties he has partied with Byron and the Shelleys in Italy, had a frenzied affair with an Italian noblewoman, published his first novel, been defrauded, imprisoned for debt and emigrated to the United States to build an ideal community. With his loyal servant Ignatz, he starts the first Lager brewery in America, marries, fathers two daughters, attempts to find the source of the Nile, begins a feud with Burton and Speke, becomes a Consul in Trieste, meets again the love of his youth, Countess Raphaella, but perhaps, all too late.

A panoramic story, at its heart the hopeless, impetuous romantic that is Cashel Greville Ross. William Boyd is a superb story teller. The conceit of the tale is that he is merely reworking the surviving notes, letters and mementoes of Ross into a fictionalised biography. Footnotes enhance the joke. I especially enjoyed finding out where in the British Museum could be found the Lion of Glymphonos, a particularly impressive piece of looted Greek statuary. Cashel is a wonderful creation, Don Quixote to Ignatz’ Sancho Panza and Raphaella’s Dulcinea.

A super novel; great reading; whatever next?

The story begins somewhere in Scotland on 14th December 1799, the same day that George Washington died. I'm not entirely sure why we are told this other than to help the reader to place the date of Cashew Greville Ross' full and eventual life and to authenticate this fictional autobiography.

Initially, I found this unfolding narrative style of merging facts (death of George Washington, battle of Waterloo in 1815 with the lives of Byron, Shelly and Speke) distracting but on reflecting it does add to give some historical context to the biography of Cashew Grenville Ross as he travels the world and participates in some bazaar schemes. En route he has some liaisons with some women but only one of them has any lasting effect on his life. In the end I thought that this was a bit of a race to see how this eventful, adventurous story would end. It is brilliantly told by William Boyd who IS a talented storyteller.

Thank you for providing me with this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to reading more of William Boyd's books.

William Boyd at his very best! This book was simply fantastic. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.

William Boyd is a brilliant writer and this book is wonderfully written. The story of Cashel Greville Ross is a romp through the 19th century. We meet literary and explorer legends and follow Cashel as he bumbles through, making mistake after mistake and frustratingly, learning from none of them.

I couldn’t quite believe a man could be that gullible and he started to annoy me after a while, which is testament to Boyd’s writing skills and his ability to evoke strong emotions in a reader. Still a 5 star read which was hard to put down.

What a great treat this is. It’s like a warm bath or a box of your favourite chocolates, the kind of book you can just pick up and wallow in, becoming totally immersed in the world of the protagonist while you enjoy every twist and turn.
Cleverly combining fact and fiction, The Romantic tells the story of Cashel Greville Ross and a lifetime of love, loss, and adventure. Cashel lives an almost impossibly rich and varied life. As the illegitimate son of a governess and landed gentleman he finds himself fighting in the Battle of Waterloo, an officer in the East India Trading Company, a tourist in Italy befriending Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelly, having a love affair with an Italian noblewoman, becoming a bestselling author, a victim of a rogue printer ending up in debtor’s prison, a farmer, an ice trader ( who knew ice as once exported across continents?!) a brewer in New England, an explorer in search of the source of the Nile, and a ‘dodgy’ consul based in Trieste.
Boyd picks you up and whirls you through each stage of Cashel’s incredible life, weaving together fact and fiction and brilliantly capturing the feel of the varied settings in the book as well as his protagonist’s dilemmas and emotions.
By coincidence, the book I read before this was Ian McKewan’s Lessons, another story of one man’s life across generations against a background of real historical events. But where ‘Lessons’ felt fairly slow and joyless – a series of disappointments and betrayals with very little happiness in between, The Romantic is fast-paced and full of warmth, wit, and fun. It’s a hugely entertaining romp across continents taking in key events from the C19th while sharing an epic and intimate story of one man’s life.
With thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for a free ARC in return for an honest review

Loved this book…..an unusual premise….a handful of objects left behind after death led WB to write a novel about Cashels life. Really enjoyed it

I always enjoy William Boyd but this is a really great book. Part biography part fiction the story of Cashel. Covers so many important historical events and a life across different places and cultures. His early life would be a story in itself but there is much more to it.

Ronan Keating sang it, our hero, Cashel Greville Ross, lived it: life is a rollercoaster! He encounters extreme ups and downs throughout his life. Just when you’re thinking, “Great, things are really going well for him now”, the rug is pulled from under him and disaster strikes. He gets back up, has success in another walk of life, then bam, again.

What I liked most about this book is that Cashel meets a number of people who actually existed, which sent me to Wikipedia multiple times to find out more details about who they were, what they did, and whether what is recorded in this novel actually happened. Also the style of writing is faithful to the 19th Century period (I think?) and I consulted the dictionary to discover the meaning of words I wasn’t familiar with. While this made it a longer read than it would have been, I didn’t mind, as I like books that educate as well as entertain me.

Reading on Kindle was great for consulting the dictionary, but the footnotes were sent haywire, so I would recommend reading it in paper form.

I absolutely loved The Romantic - escapist, epic, playful and unique. Brilliant characters, adventure, romance, rich historical detail... Just fantastic!

The Romantic follows the extraordinary life story of Cashel Greville Ross across the 19th century, acting as a fictional autobiography. Cashel grows up in rural Ireland, but due to the various twists and turns of his life we find him growing up in Oxford, at the Battle of Waterloo, publishing novels, spending Italian summers with The Shelleys and Lord Byron, in debtors prison in London, finding the source of the River Nile, brewing German lager in America and uncovering crimes in Trieste. His is a life well lived, but one he feels he ruined in letting the love of his life go.

I really enjoyed Boyd’s detailed and atmospheric depictions of the various settings of the novel, and enjoyed my travels with Cashel. He is at times a flawed individual, but one who acknowledges this and who strives to do the best he can. The whole host of supporting characters were equally engaging, Ignatz and Raphaella in particular, and I enjoyed the fact that - like in life - not every loose end was tied up by the end.

The Romantic is out in the UK on October 6th. Thank you to Netgalley and Viking for the E-arc of this book.

I've loved everything that William Boyd has written, and 'The Romantic' may just be my new favourite.
He's written fictional biographies before, and this one takes the reader on a fascinating journey - surviving Waterloo, meeting Byron etc. Brilliant