An Illustrated Guide to Dominica by Bastian [no surname]

Thanks to Condé Nast Traveller

Title: An Illustrated Guide to Dominica

Author: Bastian [no surname]

Illustrator: Cassiopeia Blakely

Publisher: Hennings of Bloomsbury 

Source book: Island in the Sun by Katie Fforde

OK, so the London publishing firm Hennings have got to know Bastian because he has won a prize for writing a paper about history of the island of Dominica, the early Kalinago peoples, and the rock art they created, which he plans to expand into a book. They like his writing, and it’s plain he knows everything there is to know about Dominica and is well placed to write a definitive guide book. 

And having seen a beautiful watercolour birthday card that Cass (full name Cassiopeia) had sent to Bastian, Hennings were keen for her to produce illustrations for the guide. Sometimes a drawing or a painting can be more helpful than a photograph.

Hennings are proposing that this initial book could become a series. There are lots of islands in the Caribbean after all. I have never been there, but my favourite names are St Kitts and Nevis, and of course St Vincent and the Grenadines. A good name for a band.

If you have been on holiday to the Dominican Republic, and it seems that quite a lot of people have, try to remember that Dominica is not only a completely different island, but also pronounced differently (emphasis is on the second i). I know a lot of people get them muddled up, and to illustrate this, I asked the internet to show me travel guides to Dominica: I got 2, but also 5 guides to the Dominican Republic. It appears we really do need Bastian’s guide book.

Also mentioned in Island in the Sun is an unnamed man writing a book about Jean Rhys. She wrote, amongst other things, Wide Sargasso Sea, which is a sort of prequel to Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë). Cass stayed with the unnamed author and his family when she was about 12. Her father was busy photographing places Jean Rhys had lived. It was then Cass learned to love Dominica.

Then there’s the possible life story of Howard Blakely, a world renowned photographer (and Cass’s father), by Howard’s friend Ranulph Gregor, a hot shot journalist who has won all sorts of prizes. Ranulph also has plans for a series of articles about archaeology in Africa which he hopes to turn into a book.

Plus, Howard has been writing a book for years (obviously not very successfully) to go with all the photographs he took when he was in the Galapagos.

And then of course we have the immediately dreadful Austin. He has also written a paper about the history of Dominica, but he is certain that the early Kalinago people did not have the skills to carve rocks. But he gets very excited about some delft pottery found on a beach after the hurricane. He is sure that this means the Kalinago lived in close proximity with European pirates. He hopes that his paper can be expanded into a book.

And, we also learn that Bastian’s father, Edward, wrote a series of school textbooks, widely used on the island.

I have known Katie Fforde for years, and I emailed to ask if Bastian has a surname. I wondered if she had one in her notes that had never made it into the source book. She said no: it was very remiss of her. Well, that was nice of her.

For more fictional travel books see Lavender Laughs in a lot of different countries.

Thanks to Pure Vacations