Firstly it is based on a superb book, secondly it is well cast with Jack Hawkins at the height of his powers playing Captain Ericsson and thirdly it is well abridged. It is even better second time round than it was the first. The Cruel Sea is perhaps the finest novel written out of World War II. First published to great acclaim in 1951, THE CRUEL SEA remains a classic novel of endurance and daring. The Cruel Sea Summary. The book is also, for its time, quite frank in its sexual references. The Cruel Sea (1953) Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, o Capitão Ericson, depois de ser convocado para o serviço, assume o comando do HMS Compass Rose, uma corveta da classe Flor da marinha britânica, a fim de proteger comboios em mar aberto. They surfaced above their handiwork, in hatred or in fear, sometimes snarling their continued rage, sometimes accepting thankfully a truce they had never offered to other ships, other sailors. Nicholas Monsarrat's own career was the model for that of his character Lockhart, a Fleet Street reporter in the 1930s, commissioned as a naval reservist. The Cruel Sea Summary. Monsarrat spent the war in anti-submarine escort ships, rising to the rank of lieutenant-commander. Darting back and forth across the icy North Atlantic, Compass Rose played a deadly cat and mouse game with packs of German U-boats lying in wait beneath the ocean waves. Please try again. Burford Books, 1951 - Fiction - 509 pages. The highly acclaimed 'Cruel Sea' is one of the all-time great naval and war thrillers. Lieutenant-Commander George Ericson, a Merchant Navy and Royal Naval Reserve officer, is recalled to the Royal Navy and given command of the fictitious Flower-class corvette HMS Compass Rose, newly built to escort convoys. 22 likes. Brand new Book. I came to the novel after, very belatedly, seeing the film. It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Even so, there are enough exciting moments to keep the story alive and enough information about naval life in WWII to make it well worth reading. He tells a very human story of men at war and ships. The Cruel Sea is a classic novel of World War II from the British perspective. I decided to reread it, which is sometimes not a good idea, because maybe you realize it wasn't good as you thought. The book was a smash when released in 1951, going through numerous printings. In chapter seven the ship receives a message ordering it to "remain on patrol in vicinity of Rockall" as the end of the Second World War approaches in 1945, and as finally hostilities were declared ended, a well-known quote:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}. Releases March 2, 2021. I consider "The Cruel Sea" to be among the 3-4 best novels dealing with World War II and especially, the war at sea, that I've ever read. The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British war film starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. The Cruel Sea. One of the classic naval adventure stories of World War II, Monsarrat's novel tells the tale of two British ships trying to escape destruction by wolf pack U-boats hunting in the North Atlantic. They also listed what they considered to be the top 5 Sea Novels. There was a problem loading your book clubs. It contains seven chapters, each describing a year during the war. … A powerful novel of the North Atlantic in World Wat II, this is the story of the British ships, A Game of Birds and Wolves: The Ingenious Young Women Whose Secret Board Game Helped Win World War II, Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (Pacific War Trilogy, 3). The action commences in 1939. It covers not just the details of the battle of the Atlantic, but deals with the people who fought it - their domestic triumphs, tragedies, worries and ambitions. Monsarrat spent the war in anti-submarine escort ships, rising to the rank of lieutenant-commander. The stories of the individuals were well told and you could actually picture the men and women involved. I was impressed by its thoughtful pacing and the realistic portrayal of naval warfare in the North Atlantic. (1953) Approved | 126 min | Drama, War. I want - and still want - a standard copy of the book. It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Nicholas Monsarrat's own career was the model for that of his character Lockhart, a Fleet Street reporter in the 1930s, commissioned as a naval reservist. The film was a smash hit when released and both it and the book continue to enjoy undiminshed popularity. I read The Cruel Sea many years ago, and never forgot it. The Chronicles comprising 'HM Corvette' [with] 'East Coast Corvette' [with] 'Corvette Command' [with] 'HM Frigate'. The Cruel Sea Kindle Edition. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It covers not just the details of the battle, but deals with the people who fought it - their domestic triumphs, tragedies, worries and ambitions. That's not the case with The Cruel Sea. Although the role of the cowardly officer Bennett was an Australian in the book, the Englishman Donald Sinden was originally screen-tested for the part and the Welshman Stanley Baker was screen-tested for the part of Lockhart. Ericson, now promoted to commander, and Lockhart, now a lieutenant-commander, take command of a new ship, the fictitious River-class frigate HMS Saltash. Unable to add item to List. I thought it was one of the best war movies that I had ever seen. Recording took place with the assistance of the captain and ship's company of HMS Brighton and the captain of HMS Scylla. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. No long ago, I had the opportunity to watch the 1953 movie, "The Cruel Sea." Really good on characters and the tactics of the corvettes and destroyers that took the battle to the German Submarines and helped win the war. I consider "The Cruel Sea" to be among the 3-4 best novels dealing with World War II and especially, the war at sea, that I've ever read. With the war ended, Saltash returns to port as a guard to several German submarines that have surrendered. The Battle of the Atlantic and the protection of the Atlantic convoys was the critical battle of World War 2 for Britain. The author served on a Corvette and, thus, writes with distinct familiarity with the ships and the ordeal of living for months in a rocky, salty, wet environment with little chance of engaging the enemy, sinking a U-boat, or even surviving an encounter. A few weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal did a review of a new book about the sea. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. The cruel sea by Nicholas Monsarrat, 1988, Naval Institute Press edition, in English The Cruel Sea is a classic novel of World War II from the British perspective. Well known for his concise story telling and tense narrative on a wide range of subjects, although nonetheless famous for those connected with the sea and war, he became one of the most successful novelists of the twentieth century, whose rich and varied collection bears the hallmarks of a truly gifted writer. The novel was made into the film The Cruel Sea in 1953, directed by Charles Frend and starring Jack Hawkins as Commander Ericson and Donald Sinden as Lockhart. It sounded interesting (I'm always interested in how other fiction authors treat the subject of warfare), so I downloaded the Kindle version and started reading. Please try again. Day: on May 8, 1945, World War 2 ended in Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Cruel_Sea_(novel)&oldid=996127649, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 December 2020, at 18:10. I first read it as a teenager in the 1960s and saw it on Kindle a few days ago. Denys Rayner-Wikipedia It follows the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. Most of the crew die in the freezing waters, but Ericson, Lockhart, Ferraby, and a few others are rescued the next day; however Ferraby suffers a breakdown forcing him to go to hospital. During World War II he joined the Royal Navy and served in corvettes. Based on the author's own vivid experiences, The Cruel Sea is the nail-biting story of the crew of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette assigned to protect convoys in World War Two. They continue the monotonous and dangerous but vital duty of convoy escort, and after one particularly difficult convoy they use all their hard-won knowledge to sink a German submarine. Nicholas Monsarrat's "The Cruel Sea" was listed, with a brief summary. Somehow the tradition of the Royal Navy and the knowledge of the importance of their work carries them through. The novel, based on the author's experience of serving in corvettes and frigates in the North Atlantic in the Second World War, gives a matter-of-fact but moving portrayal of ordinary men learning to fight and survive in a violent, exhausting battle against the elements and a ruthless enemy. His career as a solicitor encountered a swift end when he decided to leave Liverpool for London, with a half-finished manuscript under his arm and only forty pounds in his pocket. Coming to political issues, Monserrat has no sympathy for striking workers in the UK or for Eire's neutrality under De Valera - he shows no understanding of why the Irish might not want to co-operate with a country that had oppressed them for centuries. And so it is, this engrossing, enormous record of the years 1939 and on into 1945, of Atlantic convoy duty aboard the corvette, Compass Rose, and later, on the a frigate. 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 desperate cat-and-mouse game with Nazi U-boats. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. BBC Radio 4 has produced two radio adaptations of the book. No mention of this in the description I relied on to buy it. The World War II adventures of a British convoy escort ship and its officers. Even if you don’t give a fig about the battle of the Atlantic, it’s a great story. Buy The Cruel Sea (Penguin World War II Collection) by Monsarrat, Nicholas (ISBN: 9780141042831) from Amazon's Book Store. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. The Cruel Sea is a great book, one of the best I’ve read this year, and by far the oldest. It is drawn on the actual service in the Royal Navy of the author. The Cruel Sea is a great book, one of the best I’ve read this year, and by far the oldest. The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The cast included Donald Sinden (Narrator), Philip Madoc (Ericson), Paul Rhys (Lockhart), Michael Maloney (Ferraby), Helen Baxendale (Julie Hallam), Emma Cunniffe and Jack Davenport. It centers on life on a Corvette, a small ship used by the British much as Destroyer Escorts were used by the Americans, mostly for defense of convoys, but occasionally for offensive work against U-boats. The men endure the ship's constant rolling and pitching in the huge waves, freezing cold, the strain of maintaining station on the convoy on pitch-black nights and the fear that at any second a torpedo from a German U-boat could blow them to oblivion. I don’t know why I didn’t read it before this, since it’s been in the family all this time. The latter was made into a classic film starring Jack Hawkins. I was hoping Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 novel of the same name would be match the high quality of the movie. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. "The Cruel Sea" is a great book and a must purchase for anyone wanting to learn more about naval warfare in the north Atlantic. His war experiences provided the framework for the novel 'HMS Marlborough will enter Harbour', which is one of his best known books, along with 'The Cruel Sea'. So re-readig the novel now it's intriguing to remember how I digested it at age 16 and now at 71 with 30 years at sea behind me. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. A great novel about the cruelty and (sometimes) the necessity of war, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2019. All over the broad Atlantic, wherever they had been working or lying hid, the U-boats surfaced, confessing the war's end. Bennett, the first lieutenant, a mean and shirking disciplinarian with a penchant for bullying and canned sausages ("snorkers"), leaves the ship ostensibly for health reasons, and the junior officers are able to mature, with Lockhart gaining promotion to first lieutenant. It covers not just the details of the battle, but deals with the people who fought it - their domestic triumphs, tragedies, worries and ambitions. Firstly it is based on a superb book, secondly it is well cast with Jack Hawkins at the height of his powers playing Captain Ericsson and thirdly it is well abridged. Book Overview. 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. Product Details. They surfaced in secret places, betraying themselves and their frustrated plans: they rose within sight of land, they rose far away in mortal waters, where on the map of the battle, the crosses that were the sunken ships were etched so many and so close that the ink ran together. Even with the passage of time, this book continues to be relevant for anyone with an interest in history and those who go to sea. Even if you don’t give a fig about the battle of the Atlantic, it’s a great story. Seller Inventory # 9788439734611. 7 people found this helpful. 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 desperate cat-and-mouse game with Nazi U-boats. Even with the passage of time, this book continues to be relevant for anyone with an interest in history and those who go to sea. Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016. The Cruel Sea is a 1951 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. They are nearly sunk several times until in 1943 they are finally torpedoed and forced to abandon ship. The novel is also available as an audiobook. Based on the author's own vivid experiences, The Cruel Sea is the nail-biting story of the crew of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette assigned to protect convoys during World War II.
Darting back and forth across the icy North Atlantic, Compass Rose played a deadly cat-and-mouse game with packs of German U-boats lying in wait beneath the ocean waves.