The cheerful blackguard

"The Cheerful Blackguard" by Roger Pocock is an early 20th-century novel about José de la Mancha y O'Brien, a young man navigating life in Canada with a mixed Spanish and Irish background. After losing his parents and searching for his runaway brother "the Brat," José finds a dog named Rich Mixed and journeys through misadventures in Winnipeg, eventually meeting Rain, a Blackfoot Indian girl. As José's attraction to Rain grows, he embraces his adventurous spirit, setting the stage for a story filled with both humor and touching moments that highlight the struggles of interconnected cultures and the complexities of family, love, and personal identity.