Why a Booktrail?
1968 : a fireball explosion on the F1 track begins an unsettlingly beautiful tale of obsession and redemption
Monte Carlo
What you need to know before your trail
It is the Monaco Grand Prix in May 1968. Jack Preston, a mechanic for Team Sutton, is making the final checks on his car as the beau monde mingles with the drivers under the eyes of the world’s press and the galleries of spectators. DeeDee, a starlet of great beauty, seems to be walking towards him, or perhaps towards the royal box. Without warning a fireball rips across the starting grid. Preston will always bear the scars as a consequence of his unthinking heroism, his saving the life and the beauty of the girl, but details of the accident remain vague – no photographs capturing the moment have come to light.
Weeks later, Preston emerges from hospital and goes home to his wife in a remote English village from which the drab atmosphere of the 1950s has yet to recede. There, as he slowly recovers, he awaits word from his employers and some sign of DeeDee’s gratitude, an acknowledgment that it was he who saved her life.
Travel Guide
Travel around the car mad home of Monte Carlo
Jack Preston has always loved machines and tinkering with them and now he’s fixing race cars! The one in the book might not be real, but it sounds it ( Sutton 44)
In this novel, you get to to go right into the heart of the racing world and all from the royal enclosure too! It’s quite a treat. There’s a richness to it all, a sense that you get to see things you would not get to see as a mere tourist! There’s lots of descriptions about cars, engines, races and so for car buffs, you will be in racing glory!
There’s ‘scenes’ set all around the racing world and you can almost hear the cars themselves, smell the exhaust fumes and feel the thrill of the race!
There’s a visit to Nice you won’t want to do as Jack ends up in hospital there. Stick to Monaco!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Monte Carlo
Destination: Monaco, Monte Carlo Author/Guide: Peter Terrin Departure Time: 1960s
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