Begin the Beguine
Readers approaching this book may be expecting little more than a comprehensive account of the histories of the musical icons of America’s Swing Era coupled with the story of a fabulous ship, the Cunard liner, the RMS Franconia. They will not be disappointed. But the author delivers so much more than this, incorporating into his text a range of personalities apart from the obvious, such as Cole Porter and Artie Shaw, all of whom he brings to life in fascinating detail.
However, it is John Graham, a Clydebanker whose life story the writer chooses to subtly transform an accomplished document into a powerful novel. The history of John’s childhood, his apprenticeship in the Merchant Navy and the overlooked but horrific Nazi blitzing of Clydebank, its shipyards, and its town—and which killed John’s parents and destroyed the family home—profoundly affects him.
John’s ambitions moved beyond his successful sea career. His studies included science and Islamic law, and he found his life’s partner in the young Farah Ayad, an educated and ambitious native of the Seychelles. Their love story, repeatedly disrupted by war, is delicately told and is consummated when John sees “standing on the quay, a small figure in white”.
Through all of this the RMS Franconia had sailed her graceful way, from unique superstar, through bruised troopship, escaping major damage, her luxury trappings mothballed, and had emerged as the chosen venue of the famous Yalta conference.
This is an enchanting book which will appeal to sailors, historians, jazz buffs and romantics everywhere. It is as smooth as the best chocolate eclair you ever tasted. A beguine whose beginning and whose conclusion should not be missed.
