Using an engaging question and answer format, Queen Mary expert
David Ellery tells you everything you need to know about one of the most
famous ships in the world: from her construction, to her wartime
service, through to the haunting myths in her wake over her glorious 85
years.
For 1930s Britain, the Queen Mary was a symbol of hope. Cunard had
abandoned construction on what they had planned to be the grandest liner
of all time in the depths of the Depression. Her half-finished hull sat
on the Clyde for years, but when Cunard announced they were going to
complete her, it was a sign, perhaps, that the darkest days were over,
that the country was emerging from economic disaster and that Britannia
would soon rule the waves once again.
The Queen Mary would go on to be one of the most famous ships in the
world for all the right reasons. The first British ship to be over 1,000
feet in length, launched by her namesake, she won the Blue Riband (the
record for fastest Atlantic crossing) not once by twice - and when she
won it the second time in 1938 she held it until 1952.
After wartime service carrying up to 16,000 US troops to Europe at a
time, she finally retired to Long Beach, California, in 1967. There she
remains, a perfectly preserved reminder of a bygone era, and a
celebration of the golden age of the transatlantic liner.
In this book David Ellery, maritime historian, TV presenter and
documentary maker, answers all the questions you might have about this
glorious ship - and ones you might never have thought to ask too. This
unique, accessible approach gives a fantastic introduction to the ship
to anyone curious about her, but is also very detailed and
comprehensive, covering everything from the ship's design, construction,
engineering and interior fittings to her naming, wartime service and
more. He also addresses all the myths and rumours such a famous ship
attracted over her decades in service.
Packed with archival photographs and other original material, this is a
fascinating and illuminating guide to the Queen Mary, looking beneath
the sheen of her appointments to explore how her fame is well deserved.
