A fresh look at a period of English art that has surged in interest and popularity in recent years, authored by one of Britain's leading art historians and critics.

The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between Two - AbeBooks The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between Two - AbeBooks

The conceit of the tale is that he is merely reworking the surviving notes, letters and mementoes of Ross into a fictionalised biography. This is representative of the path Eliza’s music and life have taken since shrugging off her George Bernard Shaw-inspired pop moniker. Two strong women become central to the story; Contessa Raphaella Rezzo; and widow Mrs Frances (Frannie) Broome. 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.My thanks to Penguin for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Ross involves himself in an unlikely escapade; it appears to go well; it turns out exceptionally badly; Ross escapes through some quirk of chance. In the process he gains both friends and enemies leading him to adopt new identities from time to time. It was a form of mid-life crisis, no doubt, that he could have resolved had he lived longer, yet the curtailment of his life places him precisely within an epoch. As i finished the book, I found myself thinking at first that the end - Ross's death - felt a tad underwhelming.

The Real and the Romantic: English Art Between Two World Wars

Set in the 19th century, this novel follows the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. The snag, however, is that because almost all his major surviving work is in watercolour on paper, it can only be displayed under light conditions more demanding than those for oil paintings, so it is never there to line up with Stanley Spencer, Christopher Wood or the early Victor Pasmore. But that probably is just me looking for a fault, thinking there must be something that could have been better. Boyd spent eight years in academia, during which time his first film, Good and Bad at Games, was made. Although relatively small numbers of these seem to have been printed, they are striking images, conveying the domesticity of life as well as the discomfort and danger.Being incredibly pernickety, parts of Ross's life perhaps felt a bit rushed and gave the feeling Boyd might have been wanting to canter through to the end a little too quickly. Sometimes this works in his favour but it’s a trait that also causes him much regret and angst throughout his life.

romantic : the real life of Cashel Greville Ross : a novel The romantic : the real life of Cashel Greville Ross : a novel

When Ross finds himself on the Italian beach where Shelley's body is being burned, Boyd vividly describes the "curious, putrefying, blue-grey hue" of what remains of the poet's flesh. It also has to be said that he leaves a trail of discarded relationships in his wake, there always seeming to be one more obstacle for him to overcome. This might sound like a bad thing but he always takes his beatings with grace and finds another scheme to make his name. Ravilious became fascinated by submarines and spent time on board one of them to prepare lithographs for a projected book.If we take the title of Frances Spalding's book, he contrives to be both Real and Romantic simultaneously, yet the romanticism is all the stronger for its understatement and its anchorage to realism. His inclinations towards aloneness mingle with his restless, romantic nature to send him from his birth in County Cork, Ireland, in 1799 to Oxford, London, Brussels and Zanzibar. 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. One of the many pleasures of Boyd’s fiction is that history doesn’t just happen around his characters – it happens to them.

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

K ierkegaard’s observation that life can only be understood backwards but must be lived forwards is pertinent to any attempt to understand art history.

It is a gripping page turner full of exciting twists and turns, yet it is also deeply moving, a great, generous big read of a book which I thoroughly enjoyed.