From one of Britain’s best-loved and bestselling writers comes an intimate yet panoramic novel about the tumult and unexpected nature of life, set in the 19th century

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 farmer, a pawnbroker, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a writer, a gigolo – and many other manifestations – and, finally, a minor diplomat, based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he sees out the end of his days.

William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana, and grew up there and in Nigeria. He is the author of sixteen highly acclaimed, bestselling novels and five collections of stories. He is married and divides his time between London and south-west France. His most recent novel, Trio, was a Sunday Times bestseller.