Description
The author of Any Human Heart guides readers expertly through the richly imagined life of a fictional nineteenth century figure, tracing his passage from adventurer and bankrupt to African explorer and minor diplomat in perfectly crafted, immersive prose.
A new "whole life" novel from William Boyd, the author of Any Human Heart
Set in the 19th century, the novel follows the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. He is variously a soldier, a lover, a husband, a father, a friend of famous poets, a writer, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a farmer, an African explorer - and many other manifestations - before, finally, he becomes a minor diplomat, a consul based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he thinks he will see out the end of his days in well-deserved tranquillity. This will not come to pass...
