To Purchase Farewell Alexandria Click Here

Today, Lily Azerad-Goldman, one of Bookpleasures’ reviewers is pleased to have as our

guest, novelist Derek Adie Flower author of The Shores of Wisdom, The Tuscany Trilogy,

Inquest On IMHOTEP (Beyond The White Walls), Ransomed, and his most recent tome,

Farewell Alexandria.  Farewell Alexandria is of particular interest to Lily as she was born

in Egypt and lived there for seventeen years before migrating to Canada in the early 60s.

Good day Derek and thanks for participating in our interview.

Lily:

Were you born in Egypt?  Why and when did you leave Egypt and where do you live now?

Derek:

Thank you, Lily, I’m delighted to be interviewed by you.   I was born in Geneva -  my parents had a

house there - but was brought up between Alexandria and Cairo , where our family resided

principally.  I left Egypt in 1956 after the Suez crisis, and after living successively in London, Cannes,

Milan, Florence and Rome, I now live with my wife at Nettuno, some 60 kms. on the coast south of

Rome.  Curiously it reminds me a lot of Alex with its palm trees, and we’re fortunate enough to live

in the centre of a park with private way down to the beach.

Lily:

What motivated you to write Farewell Alexandria?

Derek:

Probably through a form of nostalgia, the wish to recall the happy days spent, both by me and may

parents, in what was once one of the glittering centres of the Mediterranean.

Lily

Is Farewell Alexandria an autobiography or the story of your relatives and friends?

Derek:  

I was asked the same question when interviewed by the B.B.C. in London. No it is not an

autobiography though Julius may represent some of my aspirations, nor is it the story of my family

or relatives of mine, but all the principal characters are based on people I had either met or heard

about.

Lily:

You know how to reflect the diversity of various ethnicities that existed in Egypt in the

timeframe of your story. But why is your main protagonist an Armenian? 

Derek:

There were a lot of Armenians in Egypt who, persecuted in their own country, had  gone there to

start a new life. Also the carpenter who did our house at Agami, was Armenian, so it came naturally

to me to make  Antor Caspardian of Armenian descent.

Lily:

Did the incident with the poor Jewish man really happen during a riot? Personally, when I

lived in Egypt, I remember huddling with my family in a first floor building listening to the

screams and invectives of the mob running past our doors. Thank G-d they did not penetrate

our building!

Derek: 

Yes, I was told about it by my parents.  In fact my Mother was caught in a riot when her car broke

down just as the mob came charging down the street. Luckily her chauffeur managed to keep the

rioters at bay, so no harm was done.  

Lily:

How did Antor Caspardian become such a good businessman? His story is quite plausible

and is the dream of all Egyptians, especially my dad’s. Did you have any wheeling and

dealing in such businesses?

Derek: 

As I explain in the book, he was bright, single minded and a go-getter who learnt the tricks of the

trade while an apprentice in the various companies he worked for, including the bank. He then simply

grasped the opportunities offered him.  As for me, not only was I involved in oil brokerage in the

80s and 90s as well as insurance and banking, but my father had controlled companies which

imported many of the cars imported into Egypt, from Rolls Royces to Mini Minors, as well as

refrigerators etc. So I had a certain experience as a youngster on how businesses operated. 

Lily:

How did you know about King Farouk’s weakness for playing and winning at cards?

And how did you know about the money evasion schemes (which are all true stories!) 

Derek: 

The father of my best friend, Norman Ades, played poker regularly with Farouk, so we had

first hand knowledge of what happened at those sessions, and how losing gracefully could

turn into an advantage when wanting to export funds. A word from the king and the problem

was solved!

Lily:

You included many stories that make your book quite a saga. Did you remember these

stories or did you have references?

For example the stories on the luxurious Yacht bring back to mind Onassis and his

lavish lifestyle.

Derek:  

Some of the episodes I recount I remembered, others refer to people I knew or my friends knew. 

The luxurious yacht was actually based on that of the billionaire Kashogi, onto which I was invited

when it berthed at Porto Santo Stefano, on the Tuscan coast.  I actually owned a yacht at one time

with a friend, a converted motor torpedo boat, but of course it was no way as luxurious as the one

I describe. 

Lily:

How did you develop the plot and characters? Did you use any set formula?As a follow up,

did you know anyone who was paralysed like George? Did you make any research into that

state of mind? 

Derek:

Like in other novels I have written, I develop the plot and characters as I write, so have no

set formula., which maybe explains why my novels are all different. 

The only one which maybe resembles Farewell Alexandria is another ‘saga’ called

The Tuscan Trilogy.  However, I do research carefully the facts and events around which

the characters evolve.  Where George’s paralysis is concerned,  I did question a specialist

as to what can happen when a person has a ‘stroke’ like George,  or  a cancer like Cecily,

but their states of mind are my diagnosis, following the characters I have given  them.

Incidentally, George’s business success story is based on that of a  a person I knew,

though his character was my invention. 

Lily:

A.J. is a typical terrorist mind. I learned a few new things on the civil war in Lebanon and the

different factions vying for power and murder.

Were you in Lebanon at that time? And why do you call Lebanon, The Lebanon?

Derek: 

No, I was not, but my wife spent her early childhood in Beyrout and was very close to the

then  President Chamoun’s family and children.  His young son, Danny, used to consider

her his kid sister.

I met him in Paris, many years later, and he gave me a lot of background information on the

events which took place there.  He was at the head of one of the factions in the Lebanese

civil war, and was subsequently killed by a rival faction, together with his wife and two of his

three children. A terrible tragedy.

Why do I call it the Lebanon?  Good question. Possibly because in French it was always known

as le Liban, a throwback, maybe, to when it was a province of Syria, but also because maybe

erroneously, we have always referred to it as such. 

Lily:

I loved your ending and will not ask you any questions other than say this was a fitting one.

Derek: 

Thank you.

Lily:

How did you know when your book was finished?

Derek: 

When all the principal characters had said and done what I wanted them to.  

Lily:

In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with their material to tell

a good story or make a point. But how much is too much? 

Derek: 

A difficult question where fiction is concerned,  In non-fiction, however, I reckon one cannot

take liberties and must recount only facts, otherwise it becomes the so-called ‘faction’. 

In fiction, my view is that it is up to the author, and the public will then decide how much is

too much.

Lily:

Has your environment and/or upbringing influenced your writing?

Derek: 

Certainly. 

Lily:

Do you still go back to Alexandria?  

Derek:

Yes. In 2002 I was invited to the opening of the new Alexandrian Library – a remarkable building –

which put Alexandria back on the map culturally, and since then I have been back twice.

I am planning to go there this winter as I still have friends there also. 

Lily:

Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us?

(We would love to hear all about them!) 

Derek: 

Yes. I have just finished my second ‘saga’ The Tuscan Trilogy – if you go to my website:

 www. derekflower.com  you can see what it is about, and I have also just finished a series of

adventures for young adults, entitled, ‘The Weird and Wonderful Adventures of Tim

Wessurp, ‘TWERP.’  Again, details can be seen on my website.

Lily:

Where can our readers find out more about you and your book and is there anything else you

wish to add that we have not covered?

Derek: 

Probably by visiting my website, where there is quite a lot about my books and me. 

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.

Derek.  It is I who thank you.

To Purchase Farewell Alexandria Click Here

To read a review of Farewell Alexandria contributed by Kelly Moran, one of bookpleasures'

reviewers, CLICK HERE