When Athol Townley joins his local newspaper as a junior reporter in 1992, his first assignment is to interview Emily Hewson, the former head of the local grammar school. Seemingly just a retired, elderly lady, Athol soon discovers that Emily's story is anything but ordinary. Instead, he uncovers a remarkable tale of a life full of daring adventures right across the globe.
Emily's Great Adventure, is a historical novel from Sussex-based author Steven Baker. The novel invites readers to embark on a sweeping journey that unfolds across continents and decades, spanning countries, cultures and some of the great moments in world history along the way.
The adventure begins in 1926, when twenty-two year old Emily Howson, a reserved young teacher from Brighton, accepts a position as a governess in India to the children of a Maharajah. What begins as a simple teaching post soon transforms into the journey of a lifetime.
After a chance meeting during a dinner at the Maharaja's palace with a Texan oil magnate and travelling his companions, who are driving across the world in a prototype Ford automobile, Emily is invited to join their expedition.
She accepts without hesitation and, from India, her travels take her through the Far East, across Australia, to the Pacific Islands, and finally to Texas, where she becomes involved in the oil industry.
When war breaks out in Europe in 1939, Emily returns to England to lend her support to the war effort. She joins the Women's Royal Naval Service (Wrens) before moving to work at Bletchley Park, Britain's famous code breaking centre.
Her wartime experience brings both romance and heartbreak. When the war is over, Emily returns to teaching, living quietly in a market town in the South East of England until her amazing life story is discovered years later in Athol's interview for the local newspaper.
