Nicholas Monsarrat | |
|---|---|
 Commemorative plaque onRodney Street, Liverpool | |
| Born | Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat (1910-03-22)22 March 1910 Liverpool, England |
| Died | 8 August 1979(1979-08-08) (aged 69) London, England |
| Occupation | Lawyer, writer, sailor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge University |
| Genre | Maritime fiction |
| Years active | 1934–1979 |
| Notable works | The Cruel Sea |
| Spouse | Eileen Rowland, Phillipa Crosby, and Ann Griffiths |
| Children | Marc, Anthony, and Max |
Lieutenant CommanderNicholas John Turney MonsarratFRSLRNVR (/ˈmɒnsəræt/[1] 22 March 1910 – 8 August 1979) was a British novelist known for hissea stories, particularlyThe Cruel Sea (1951) andThree Corvettes (1942–1945), but perhaps known best internationally for his novels,The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel,Richer Than All His Tribe.[2]
Monsarrat was born onRodney Street[3] inLiverpool,Lancashire, to parentsKeith Waldegrave MonsarratFRCS (among the most eminent surgeons of his time)[4] and Marguerite Turney.[2] Monsarrat was educated atWinchester College andTrinity College, Cambridge.[5] In hisautobiography, he wrote that the 1931Invergordon Naval Mutiny influenced his interest in politics and social and economic issues after college.
He had intended to practise law, but decided to pursue working as an author instead. He moved to London and wrote as a freelancer for newspapers. He wrote four novels and a play in the space of five years (1934–1939).
Though critical of military violence, Monsarrat served duringWorld War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of theRoyal 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 (corvettes andfrigates), assigned to escortconvoys and protect them from enemy attack. Monsarrat ended the war as commander of a frigate, and drew on his wartime experience in his postwarsea stories.
Resigning his wartime commission during 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He was posted at first toJohannesburg, South Africa and then, in 1953, toOttawa,Ontario, Canada.[6] He began writing full-time during 1959, settling first onGuernsey, in theChannel Islands, and later on theMaltese island ofGozo.[7]
"HMSFlower" and "HMSCompass Rose" were Flower-class corvettes in the short storyH M Corvette (1942) and the novelThe Cruel Sea (1951), though the first was a pseudonym for his first ship,Campanula, due to war-time security, while the second was fictional.
"HMSDipper" and "HMSWinger" were pseudonyms for theKingfisher-class corvettes in the storiesEast Coast Corvette (1943) andCorvette Command (1944), (republished withH M Corvette asThree Corvettes in 1945). Again, LCdr Monsarrat could not disclose the actual names of the ships he was serving in since these stories were also written during World War II.
"HMSRiver" and "HMSSaltash" were fictional River-class frigates inH M Frigate (1946), and the novelThe Cruel Sea (1951). (In the1953 film version HMSSaltash was depicted byCastle-class corvette:HMS Portchester Castle, and hence named "Saltash Castle"). As with the Flower class corvettes, the first was a pseudonym for the frigate he commanded, while the second was again fictional.
Monsarrat's first three novels, published during 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics.The Visitor, his only play, was in the same category.[8] His fourth novel and first major work,This Is the Schoolroom, had a different theme. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer experiencing 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 best work. Based on his own wartime service, it concerned the young naval officer Keith Lockhart during 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 enemy. Monsarrat's short-story collectionsHMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1949), andThe Ship That Died of Shame (1959, made into a movie of thesame name), had the same theme and gained popularity by association withThe Cruel Sea.
The similarThree Corvettes (1945 and 1953) comprisingHM Corvette (set aboard a Flower-class corvette in theNorth Atlantic),East Coast Corvette (as First Lieutenant of HMSGuillemot) andCorvette Command (as Commanding Officer ofHMS Shearwater) is actually an anthology of three true-experience stories he published during the war years and shows appropriate care for what theCensor might say. ThusGuillemot has the pseudonymDipper andShearwater the pseudonymWinger in the book.HM Frigate is similar but deals with his time in command of two frigates. His use of the nameDipper could allude to his formative years when summer holidays were spent with his family atTrearddur Bay onAnglesey. They were members of the famous sailing club based there, and he recounted much of this part of his life in a bookMy Brother Denys. Denys Monsarrat was killed inEgypt 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, notablyThe Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956) and its sequelRicher Than All His Tribe (1968), draw on his experience in the diplomatic service and make important reference to thecolonial experience of Britain in Africa. Portions of these novels were drafted during Monsarrat's time inQuebec, Canada, with the assistance of his typist and line editor Helen McDonald (née Lafleur). Several have peripheral associations with the sea:The Nylon Pirates (1960) tells a story of crime aboard a modernocean liner, not pirates in the traditional meaning of the word, but card-sharps, andA Fair Day's Work (1964) deals with labour unrest in a shipyard.The Kappillan of Malta (1973) is as much a story of a place, the island ofMalta, as it is of a priest on that island during World War II.
His bookThe Story of Esther Costello (1952), later made into a movie of thesame name, while perceived as an uncomplimentary description of the life ofHelen Keller and her teachers and assistants, is really an exposé of sleazy practices and exploitation of real causes in the fundraising racket, similar to criticisms oftelevangelism.[9] It caused a minor public outcry when it first appeared, and Keller's staff considered suing him, then tried to limit the distribution of the book.[10]
His final work, unfinished at the time of his death but published in its incomplete form, was a two-volume historical novel titledThe Master Mariner. Based on the legend of theWandering Jew, it told the story of a 16th-century English seaman who, as punishment for a terrible act of cowardice, is doomed to sail the world's seas until the end of time. His hero participates in critical moments in history; Monsarrat used him to emphasize the importance of seamen.
Two non-fiction books,Life is a Four Letter Word: Breaking In (London, 1966) andLife is a Four Letter Word: Breaking Out (London, 1970), comprise Monsarrat's autobiography.
Nicholas Monsarrat died ofcancer on 8 August 1979 in London.[6] TheRoyal Navy co-operated with his wish to be buried at sea. The twonaval ratings responsible for the lifting of thecasket at his burial were AB Graham Savage and AB Stephen Knight, aboardHMSScylla.
