In this powerful debut novel, the founder of The Windrush Collection brilliantly re-imagines the stories and experiences of the passengers on board HMT Empire Windrush.
It is 1948, and post-war Britain is on her knees. The call has gone out to the British Empire for volunteers to help rebuild the ‘Mother Country,’ and young men and women from across the Caribbean have been quick to respond, paying the considerable sum of £28.10 shillings to board HMT Empire Windrush – the ‘ship of dreams’ that will take them to their new lives.
Meet Mavis, a 22-year-old Trinidadian nurse who just wants to see the world. Chef, the best cook on the island, desperate to get to London and his wounded soldier son. Norma, who wants to teach the British how to teach, and her funny best friend Lucretia, who is sure that every man wants her, and that English food is very… English. Their epic journey took two weeks, but for some it was a lifetime. Friendships were made and broken. There were love affairs and fights; dancing and dominoes; gambling and racism. Many of the young people on board that ship had never left their parents or their parishes, let alone their islands. Their lives would never be the same again.
Much has been written about the Windrush generation after their arrival in Britain, but the passengers’ back stories and experiences on board the ship have been little explored – until now. Joyful and poignant, this irresistible debut novel, brings their hopes and dreams to vivid life.
It's an honour to be hosting the blog tour for Twenty Eight Pounds Ten Shillings today. My grateful thanks to Tony Fairweather, HopeRoad Publishing and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my digital copy of the novel.
The Windrush scandal saw hundreds of Caribbean people in the UK wrongly targeted by the government's 'hostile environment' immigration policies; they were barred from working, refused benefits and in some instances detained and deported. Twenty Eight Pounds Ten Shillings takes us back to the start, when the first of the Windrush generation boarded the ship that would take them to the 'Mother Country'. Although a fictionalised account, seeing the stories of these courageous individuals means Twenty Eight Pounds Ten Shillings (the cost of their ticket) will be a vital addition to the collective history of those who made that journey, those that followed, and their descendants. However, it is also a powerful, moving book for anybody who believes it is high time that we recognise and celebrate the ongoing contribution of these people who made England their home, often in the face of rancorous hostility and institutionalised racism.
The book opens by introducing some of the characters who make the decision to accept the invitation to come to the UK. Following the HMT Empire Windrush's stops, we meet Mavis in Trinidad, a junior nurse who hears an announcer of the BBC World Service saying nurses can get a free ticket if they stay for five years and work for the new National Health Service; Pele, Anton and Vernado from Tampico, Mexico who have a rather more urgent need to board the ship; Norma in Jamaica, a teacher who loves her island but feels trapped by the lack of opportunities to advance her career, and her best friend, Lucretia who is excited to make the trip of a lifetime with her; Precious, a privileged young woman from Bermuda whose sudden change in her father's circumstances has meant she is travelling with her friends, Betty and Doris, and three young children; and Chef, whose nickname is more than fitting and who has a plan to gain a berth to London. Some are more instantly likeable than others but their youthful dreams and ambitions, their concerns and their fears ensure they're all utterly relatable and it's abundantly clear just what an enormous chance they are taking leaving their homelands for the unknown.
There are several other characters introduced once the ship sets sail for England and after the fairly linear narrative of the first few chapters, the structure of the novel becomes much looser. The perspective constantly switches between passengers and shifts from first to third person. It can be a little confusing at times but I felt it worked really well in reflecting the mixture of chaos, anxiety and excitement that must have been experienced by the passengers – and in some cases, the crew too. It's worth saying here that Tony Fairweather doesn't sanitise the racist language that was used at the time and while it is (hopefully) offensive to readers today, it's important to acknowledge not only what vitriol was directed at people due to the colour of their skin but also how it made them feel at the time. These words have always been offensive.
This is fiction, of course and as such there are scenes which add further elements of drama and intrigue to the proceedings without necessarily being entirely historically accurate. Nevertheless, some of what occurs has a ring of truth which strongly suggests that though the setting has been changed, the suffering was real. Much of the dialogue is in the Caribbean vernacular and there's a guide at the end of the book to explain any unfamiliar words or phrases, although I was able to figure out the meaning of most of what was said without any difficulties. The characters are all beautifully brought to life and are gloriously real. Considering their ages and that they were confined on the ship together for two weeks, it's not surprising that love affairs developed and there are some passionate encounters that leave nothing to the imagination.
The final part of the novel is arguably the most moving part of the book; as the passengers prepare to disembark, the welcome that awaits them from their family members already in England is overshadowed by the violent prejudice stirred up by the likes of Oswald Moseley, while Parliament and the national Press debate and inflame anti-immigration rhetoric. It's all depressingly familiar. However, as is noted towards the end of Twenty Eight Pounds Ten Shillings, 'The average age of the passengers was twenty-three years old ... many had never seen another country." and so it's this tremendous spirit of adventure and fortitude that should be the lasting impression made by Tony Fairweather's compelling debut. Despite moving to a country which has frequently been less than welcoming, these pioneers made lives for themselves here, raised their families and are as much a part of the nation's history as anybody else. A touching, humbling and inspiring read that will stay with me.
Twenty Eight Pounds Ten Shillings is published by HopeRoad and can be purchased directly from the publisher's website and from bookshop.org, Hive or Amazon. Please support independent bookshops whenever possible.
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About the Author
before going on to work for the Voice newspaper, where he managed the Voice book club. In 1989, Tony founded ‘The Write Thing’, an events company established to promote Black authors, which led to his working with a veritable who’s who of the Black literary world, including Bernardine Evaristo, Dr Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Terry McMillan, and many more. Tony is also the founder and curator of the Windrush Collection, a touring exhibition of artefacts associated with the Windrush generation. He lives in South London.
wonderful book, a very good read
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