This is Dea Birkett's story of her voyage from Lagos, along the West African coast and across the ocean to Liverpool, as a member of crew on a working cargo vessel - the only woman on board. It traces her slow, awkward progress from being a girl in a flowery dress who walked up the gangway in Apapa Docks, Lagos, to the boiler-suited cadet called "Jella" - "small boy" in the language of the Sierra Leonean crew. The book is also a testament to the men the author sailed with, the last of those who have been working the West ...
Read More
This is Dea Birkett's story of her voyage from Lagos, along the West African coast and across the ocean to Liverpool, as a member of crew on a working cargo vessel - the only woman on board. It traces her slow, awkward progress from being a girl in a flowery dress who walked up the gangway in Apapa Docks, Lagos, to the boiler-suited cadet called "Jella" - "small boy" in the language of the Sierra Leonean crew. The book is also a testament to the men the author sailed with, the last of those who have been working the West African trade route for over a hundred years. This was to be one of their last voyages. The shipping line has folded, and with it the way of life at sea to which Dea Birkett was a last, privileged witness. She also wrote "Spinsters Abroad: Victorian Lady Explorers". This book was shortlisted for the 1993 Fawcett Book Prize and for the Travel Writer of the Year Award.
Read Less
