A sweeping 19th-century novel inspired in part by Alexis de Tocqueville, told through two contrasting narrators. Olivier, born into a fragile French aristocracy, and Parrot, the fatherless son of an itinerant English printer, are drawn together by chance, loyalty and ambition.

Shifting between their voices, the narrative blends picaresque adventure with political observation: voyages to America, encounters with prisons and finance, and intimate scenes of love and rivalry. The book examines the birth of democratic ideas, personal reinvention, and the complicated bonds of friendship with sharp wit and vivid characterization.

Ideal for readers of literary historical fiction, the novel balances social insight with comic energy and richly drawn characters.

• Dual perspectives and strong characterization
• Themes: democracy, identity, friendship
• Picaresque journey across 19th-century America and Europe

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