Synopsis
The novel is split into three sections:
- Aged 16, Denton runs away to Salisbury instead of returning to Repton school. Independent and resourceful, he recounts his experiences in finding places to stay, and his indecision and fear about what is to come when he inevitably returns to his family.
- Denton agrees to see the term out at Repton whilst the family consider what is to be done. We get an insight into boarding school life in the 1920s (heads up: it’s more Malory Towers than Hogwarts).
- To Denton’s immense joy, his father summons him to stay with him in Shanghai for a while before continuing his education. Largely left to his own devices or staying with other people, Denton describes his adventures in vivid detail. The book ends with him boarding a ship to return to England a year(ish) later.
Although autobiographical, Denton’s more fantastic adventures (particularly in Shanghai) are probably embellished or imagined. The line between fact and fiction is decidedly blurred!
My copy of Maiden Voyage was originally owned by Marjorie Sinclair, who may well have been related to Evie Sinclair, Denton’s friend and housekeeper for most of his adult life. Her signature appears on the dedication page along with the date – June 19th 1943.
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