Nicholas Monsarrat
Born on Rodney Street in Liverpool, Monsarrat was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. He intended to practise law. The law failed to inspire him, however, and he turned instead to writing, moving to London and supporting himself as a freelance writer for newspapers while writing four novels and a play in the space of five years (1934–1939). He later commented in his autobiography that the 1931 Invergordon Naval Mutiny influenced his interest in politics and social and economic issues after college. Though a pacifist, Monsarrat served in World War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). His lifelong love of sailing made him a capable naval officer, and he served with distinction in a series of small warships assigned to escort convoys and protect them from enemy attack. Monsarrat ended the war as commander of a frigate, and drew on his wartime experience in his postwar sea stories. During his wartime service, Monsarrat claimed to have seen the ghost ship Flying Dutchman while sailing the Pacific, near the location where the young King George V had seen her in 1881. Resigning his wartime commission in 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He was posted at first to Johannesburg, South Africa and then, in 1953, to Ottawa, Canada. He turned to writing full-time in 1959, settling first on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and later on the Mediterranean island of Gozo (Malta). Monsarrat's first three novels, published in 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics. His fourth novel and first major work, This Is The Schoolroom, took a different approach. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer coming to grips with the "real world" for the first time, it is at least partly autobiographical. The Cruel Sea (1951), Monsarrat's first postwar novel, is widely regarded as his finest work, and is the only one of his novels that is still widely read. Based on his own wartime service, it followed the young naval officer Keith Lockhart through a series of postings in corvettes and frigates. It was one of the first novels to depict life aboard the vital, but unglamorous, "small ships" of World War II—ships for which the sea was as much a threat as the Germans. Monsarrat's short-story collections H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1949), and The Ship That Died of Shame (1959) mined the same literary vein, and gained popularity by association with The Cruel Sea. The similar Three Corvettes (1945 and 1953) comprising H.M. Corvette (set aboard a Flower class corvette in the North Atlantic), East Coast Corvette (as First Lieutenant of HMS Guillemot) and Corvette Command (as Commanding Officer of HMS Shearwater) is actually an anthology of three true-experience stories he published during the war years and shows appropriate care for what the Censor might say. Thus Guillemot appears under the pseudonym Dipper and Shearwater under the pseudonym Winger in the book. H.M. Frigate is similar but deals with his time in command of two frigates. His use of the name Dipper could allude to his formative years when summer holidays were spent with his family at Trearddur Bay. They were members of the famous sailing club based there, and he recounted much of this part of his life in a book My brother Denys. Denys Monserrat was killed in Egypt during the middle part of the war whilst his brother was serving with the Royal Navy. Another tale recounts his bringing his ship into Trearddur Bay during the war for old times' sake. Monsarrat's more famous novels, notably The Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956) and its sequel Richer Than All His Tribe (1968), drew on his experience in the diplomatic service and make important reference to the colonial experience of Britain in Africa.
30 Books Written
A powerful novel of the North Atlantic in World War II, this is the story of the British ships Compass Rose and Saltash and of their desparate cat-and-mouse game with Nazi U-boats. First published to great acclaim in 1951, The Cruel Sea remains a classic novel of endurance and daring.
As bombs pound Malta to dust, Father Salvatore--a simple priest, or kappillan, serving the poor--finds himself caught in the drama of World War Two. In the fragile safety of catacombs revealed by the explosions, he tends to the flood of homeless, starving, and frightened people seeking shelter, giving messages of inspiration and hope. His story, and that of the island, unfold in superbly graphic images of six days during the siege.
Nicholas Monsarrat, unquestionably the best writer on sea warfare during World War II, saw the horror firsthand as a frigate captain in the British Navy. In dramatic, vivid language, this unforgettable collection records the terrible years between 1940 and 1943. It includes the autobiographical It Was Cruel ; A Ship to Remember , about the sinking of the Lancastria in 1940 (3,000 men lost their lives); and I Was There , HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbou r, and The Ship That Died of Shame --three short fictional pieces.
(In this, Nicholas Monsarrat's masterpiece, Lawe represents the spirit of maritime exploration and fortitude; his life is the thread stringing together a long history of nautical adventure. Written in two volumes, the first of which appeared in 1978, the story encompasses the full extent of maritime development, beginning with Sir Francis Drake abandoning a game of bowls to fight the great crescent of the Spanish fleet, to the opening in 1960 of the St Lawrence Seaway, the farthest penetration of land ever made by ocean-going sailors)
In 'H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour', an old sloop, homeward bound, is torpedoed, leaving her guns out of action, more than three-quarters of her crew dead, and radio contact impossible. But her valiant captain steadfastly refuses to surrender his ship... In 'Leave Cancelled', an army officer and his young wife concentrate their passionate love into twenty-four hours, knowing that it might be their last chance... And in 'Heavy Rescue', an old soldier, having lived on the scrap heap for more than twenty years, finds that gallantry is once again in demand when he becomes leader of a Heavy Rescue Squad...
This is Nicholas Monsarrat’s final masterpiece, an epic tale of the sea and seafaring from the sixteenth century to near the end of the twentieth.Told from the point of view of Mathew Lawe, a young Devon sailor who is cursed after a spectacular act of cowardice to wander ‘the wild waters till all the seas run dry’, it is historical fiction but beset by real events. Monsarrat follows the great captains and naval adventurers from the Artic to the South Pacific. Lawe represents the spirit of maritime exploration and fortitude; his life is the thread stringing together a long history of nautical adventure.He finds himself mixed up with Drake and the Armada; sailing with Hudson in search of the North-West passage; a buccaneer under Sir Henry Morgan in the Caribbean; assisting Samuel Pepys with his responsibilities as Secretary to the Navy; at the side of Captain Cook as he transports General Wolf to the storming of Quebec, and then on to his death in the Pacific; serving in Nelson’s household and then to the Nile, Naples and Trafalgar; working on a slaver from Liverpool to the Caribbean; press-ganged aboard the Shannon just before her duel with the American Chesapeake, exploring the Artic with Sir John Franklin; fighting in both world wars, including the action at Zebrugge and ‘D’ Day; before a final test with a tanker catching fire after the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway – and much more besides!Under sail and steam, as Mathew’s eternal existence progresses, the action-packed novel is both highly entertaining and instructive and has been widely acclaimed as a masterpiece. Some fourteen true maps, along with other diagrams, are included, and what was originally two volumes is supplied as one. ‘… this huge, action packed volume can be recommended to anyone’ – Sunday Times‘He has never written anything to compare with this work – it is a masterstroke’ – Manchester Evening News‘No one can bring alive the cruel sea and the valiant men who have sailed on it through all the generations like Monsarrat’ – Daily Mail‘This is Monsarrat, master storyteller, running proud’ – The ScotsmanNote: Nicholas Monsarrat died before Book II was finished. Anne Monsarrat completed the remainder of the story in Nicholas's own words, partly from some working notes he left and partly from his original synopsis of The Master Mariner Book II. Both are included here.
H.M. Frigate Colony – American built, British-manned – alert, seaworthy and ready. This is the true story of Lieutenant-Commander Nicholas Monsarrat’s taking over the command of a Frigate in World War II. Written in his usual crisp and gripping way, it tells the story with full recognition of the men who served with him. Also detailed is an agreeable interlude in the United States between handing over the first frigate, H.M.S. River, to the Canadian Navy and collecting ‘Colony’, which was fitted out with at least some all-American comforts, and up to date telegraphy and weaponry.
Five hundred miles off the southwest coast of Africa lies the island of Pharamaul, a British Protectorate, governed from Whitehall through a handful of devoted British civilians. In the south of the island lies Port Victoria, dominated by the Governor’s palatial mansion; in the north, a settlement of mud huts shelter a hundred thousand natives; and in dense jungle live the notorious Maula tribe, kept under surveillance by a solitary District Officer and his young wife. When Chief-designate, Dinamaula, returns from his studies in England with a spirited desire to speed the development of his people, political crisis erupts into a ferment of intrigue and violence.
This collection of 11 short stories ranges from South Africa to England to Canada. The title story takes us on board a small gunboat with a distinguished WW II record; the shame is that it is being used as a smuggler.Other stories include "Oh To Be In England," "The Reconciliation," "The List," "The Thousand Islands Snatch," "Up the Garden Path," "The Man Who Wanted a Mark IX," "I Was There," "The Dinner Party," "Licensed to Kill" and "Postscript."
The master mariner, book 2: Darken ship : the unfinished novel [Hardcover] Nicholas Monsarrat (Author)
A relief from the recent. The Nylon Pirates, this takes its story from the mid-nineteenth century and the East, on a possible island, Makassang, in the Java Seas. Richard Marriott has wandered ten years as a disillusioned freebooter after his father's death in England has revealed him a pauper and a bastard and lost him the woman he had loved; now his ""private"" warship with its trained crew of fighting seamen has gone aground on a reef off Makassang. Richard is summoned to the Rajah whose threats and promise of money cause Richard to accept the offer to drive out insurgents under an old enemy, Black Harris. Successful, he is adopted by the Rajah and given his daughter, Princess Sunara, in marriage. Two more victories in other uprisings and the birth of a son keep Richard in favor but when restiessness and inactivity spur him to plan for a model kingdom he is accused of treason and ostracized. An immediate threat to his life is averted when HM warship arrives with Richard's half-brother in command and, through his support, when the Rajah is killed, Richard becomes the new Rajah with the chance of fulfilling his dreams for his little country. Eastern backgrounds, issues of the past that echo today, romance and torture, keep this popular on all counts
Tom Wells, a young American writer, is living on the French Riviera when his money runs out. He meets up with Paul Ehrenhardt, a dapper, obviously wealthy, international type who hires him as his confidential secretary although he has no secretarial duties, but acts more as a Man Friday for some mysterious projects.Tom's first task is to entertain Anna, Paul's seductive wife, for which he is given a fat expense account and the run of the Riviera gambling casinos and restaurants. His next task is to rent a half-ruined medieval castle in the hills of Provence without letting on who his employer is. And finally he has to find a girl...any girl...who is about nineteen, French, beautiful, blonde, aristocratic in manner, without a family or other ties, and able to disappear for a few months.Tom is paid handsomely, but, unfortunately for his employer's mysterious scheme, he falls in love with the girl he finds, and is completely distraught when she disappears as planned. Naturally his suspicions turn to the vast, dank, lonely ruins of Castle Garac. So off to the castle he goes...
The 'Alcestis', a British luxury liner, moored in New York and bound on a cruise to the Caribbean, South America and Africa, awaits her exclusive passengers - businessmen with mid-life crises, large bank balances and unforgiving wives; legacy-laden women looking for love and adventure; and divorcees with settlements to squander. But another group of passengers threatens to upset their opulent trip. These are the twentieth-century pirates - suave, elegant, discreet and utterly unscrupulous, with a singular purpose in mind and a collection of ruthless strategies.
The strange story of a man who saw our future in the distant past preserved as a warning to the present generation. A powerful parable of our time beautifully told with all the skill of a master story-teller.
In a small Irish village, young Esther Costello, victim of a tragic accident that has left her deaf, dumb and blind, is kept barely alive by hardhearted parents. Discovered by a well-meaning American tourist, who is appalled by Esther's shocking condition, she is whisked away to America for treatment. But all the advances of American medicine are unable to bring about a cure and with unceasing devotion, her patron decides to devote her life to Esther's care. But a nationwide campaign to raise public awareness eventually results in donations being diverted to the woman's personal account, and in a harrowing twist to the tale, Esther's faculties are restored, with shocking consequences.
The sequel to The Tribe That Lost Its Head is a compelling story which charts the steady drift of a young African nation towards bankruptcy, chaos and barbarism. On the island of Pharamaul, a former British Protectorate, newly installed Prime Minister, Chief Dinamaula, celebrates Independence Day with his people, full of high hopes for the future. But the heady euphoria fades and Dinamaula's ambitions and ideals start to buckle as his new found wealth corrupts him, leaving his nation to spiral towards hellish upheaval and tribal warfare.
Within the precarious conditions of the Cold War, diplomats Smith and Jones are not to be trusted. But although their files demonstrate evidence of numerous indiscretions and drunkenness, they have friends in high places who ensure that this doesn't count against them, and they are sent across the Iron Curtain. However, when they defect, the threat of absolute treachery means that immediate and effective action has to be taken. At all costs and by whatever means, Smith and Jones must be silenced.
1st Pan M188 1967 edition paperback vg++ In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
An act of kindness has grave consequences in this heart-rending novel about a young girl, pregnant and abandoned, and the man who helps her. When decent, compassionate Carter takes pity on this young girl, he is quickly drawn into an ordeal beyond his control. Succumbing first to her desperate cries for help, and then to her threats, he agrees to let her spend the night in his flat. Aided only by his own unskilled hands, she gives birth to a sickly baby. For Carter, the anguish has only just begun, as he witnesses a traumatic chain of events unfold.
Great Animal Stories: If Only They Could Talk, Ring of Bright Water, A Cat in the Window, Elephant Bill, Encounters with Animals [Complete and Unabrid
by Nicholas Monsarrat
Rating: 4.7 ⭐
GREAT SEA STORIES - THE CRUEL SEA, THE SHIP & DIVE IN THE SUN' [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 1980] 'NICHOLAS MONSARRAT, C. S. FORESTER, DOU
The first part of the autobiography, Breaking In, is of one of the most successful writers of the twentieth century, Nicholas Monsarrat. Monsarrat describes his privileged childhood in Liverpool, where his father was the greatest surgeon of his time, recalling all the small details of a provincial upbringing. The account of his days at public school are acidly described, and in remarkable contrast to his golden days at Cambridge, where he enjoyed good friends, good wine, and little work. At twenty-three, Monsarrat turned his back on his comfortable family home, fled from the desk of his uncle's solicitor's office, and settled in a single, mildewed room in London, with a typewriter and a half-finished manuscript. There, he describes the years of learning to write, learning to live, and learning to loveinvaluable lessons for a future that comprised war, emigration, marital upheaval, and the hazards of artistic achievement. The second part, Breaking Out, takes us to the year in which Monsarrat produced the novel widely acclaimed as his finest, The Tribe That Lost Its Head; the year when he was living in Ottawa as chief of the British Information Services; the year he calls The Year of the Stupid Ox. As Monsarrat charts life with astonishing frankness, we are given a stunning portrait of this complex character, this brilliant storyteller.
Tey had 21 hours in which to be together. They were to have ad more, but at the last moment his leave was cancelled. So they had but 21 hours in which to savor the full quality of their relationship - in which to talk, to laugh, to understand and forgive, in which to love with all te passion of first fulfillment. For this brief span of time was a sweet-sad miniature both of the honeymoon they had denied and of the whole rich life together which they looked forward to and could only pray would not be denied them. From these few precious hours they must derive sustenance for the present and hope for the future.This is the full and honest recollection of every fleeting moment of that 21 hours - in the memories the man carried away with him, alive and warm and deeply cherished. It is a story that will go straight to the hearts of every bride and groom, so faithfully does it mirror their experience, their aspirations. It will be just as profoundly moving to all those who know or have known love - especially to those who remember the poignancy of the too brief satisfaction of love in a life inexorably bounded by time.
Liverpool Docks, on Merseyside - a senseless strike threatens to delay the departure of an ocean liner. As the last of the passengers come aboard, including the shipping line's chairman, the drama increases with the threatened walk-out of the stewards. Below deck, agitation and unrest mount as the tide water rises and the vital hour for sailing approaches.
The turbulent Thirties, and all across Europe cry the discordant voices of hunger and death, most notably in Spain, where a civil war threatens to destroy the country. Aspiring writer, Marcus Hendrycks, has toyed with life for twenty-one years. His illusions, developed within a safe, cloistered existence in Cambridge, are shattered forever when he joins the fight against the fascists and is exposed to a harsh reality. As the war takes hold, he discovers that life itself is the real schoolroom.
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25 Escape Stories by various AuthorsThey have their exits - Airey NeaveThe Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness OrczyThe bald archaeologist (from The thirty-nine steps) - John BuchanFlight to freedom - Michael DonnetAn act of God (from Joe Burkinshaw's progress) - Geoffrey KilnerWhere eagles dare - Alistair MacLeanIn the abby church (from The black arrow) - R.L. StevensonRogue male - Geoffrey HouseholdDead cert - Dick FrancisEscape to nowhere - Francis S. JonesThe riddle of the sands - Erskine ChildersThe open window - Georgette ElgeyThe glacier (from Ayesha) - H. Rider HaggardFlying colours - C.S. Forester"You'll die in Singapore" - C. McCormacWant of air (from 20,000 leagues under the sea) - Jules VerneFree as a running fox - T.D. CalnanThe boiling water (from The Strode venturer) - Hammond InnesWhite coolies - Betty JeffreyThe silver sword - Ian SerraillierCaptain of foot - Ronald WelchThe cruel sea - Nicholas MonsarratThe professionals - John HarrisThe deep silence - Douglas ReemanThe wooden horse - Eric Williams.
Ian Carrington betrays his pregnant wife, and his young brother-in-law then plans a terrible revenge. This is despite his own involvement with Ian’s sister. There follows murder, blackmail and a very exciting and unexpected conclusion to this gripping tale set in a fashionable Swiss ski-resort.