Picked up for free on the e-reader. The two books are sequential; The Romany Rye picks up right where Lavengro left off. They are semiautobiographical; the narrator is never named but is clearly the author, George Borrow. He narrates various adventures around England; as a hack author, a tinker, a blacksmith, and a language scholar. In this last role, he befriends Gypsies (Romani) and learns some of their language; “lavengro”, according to him, means “word master” in Romani. (In the Introduction, it’s commented that one of the meanings of “lavengro” is “liar”). It’s possible this is an intentional joke on Borrow’s part; he’s often self-deprecating, portraying himself (in the persona of the anonymous narrator) as ultra-naïve; the funniest example is when he attempts to attract his love interest by teaching her Armenian. There’s an appendix, which is the most unsatisfying part; it’s a long diatribe against Papists, Jacobites, Sir Walter Scott, and Scotsmen in general; Borrow had hinted at some of these in the body of the book but was less vituperative about it. Worth a read. ( )

Novel with autobiographical character, written by one of the early great European Travellers

Memoir? Fiction? Nobody seems sure. I loved Wild Wales by Borrow, and I'm interested in the person Borrow, but this was very heavy going indeed. Very longwinded. ( )

Borrow had a passion for gypsy life. History tells us he was not the most reliable narrator but it still is interesting to read this and his other books. ( )