Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Three Corvettes by Nicholas Monsarrat Nicholas Monsarrat. Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat RNVR (22 March 1910 – 8 August 1979) was a British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea (1951) and Three Corvettes (1942–45), but perhaps best known internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe . Contents. Early life [ edit | edit source ] Born on Rodney Street [1] in Liverpool, Merseyside, 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. Wartime service [ edit | edit source ] 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 Maltese island of Gozo. Ranks [ edit | edit source ] July 1940 : Sub-Lieutenant October 1940 : Lieutenant December 1943 :Lt-Commander. Posts [ edit | edit source ] Aug 1940-Dec 41 :1st Lt, HMS Campanula (Flower-class corvette) Feb 42-Feb 43 : 1st Lt, HMS Guillemot (Kingfisher-class corvette) Mar 43- Oct 43 : CO, HMS Shearwater (Kingfisher-class corvette) Dec 43-Mar 44 : CO, HMS Ettrick (River-class frigate) Apr 44 - Dec 44: CO, HMS Perim (Colony-class frigate: a US-built version of the River class) Dec 44-July 45 : Dept. of Naval Information. HMS Flower and HMS Compass Rose were fictional Flower class corvettes in the short story H M Corvette (1942) and the novel The Cruel Sea (1951) HMS Dipper and HMS Winger were fictional Kingfisher class corvettes in the stories East Coast Corvette (1943) and Corvette Command (1944) HMS Saltash was a fictional River class frigate in the novel The Cruel Sea (1951) Awards [ edit | edit source ] June 43 : Mentioned in Dispatches. Work [ edit | edit source ] 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. The Visitor , his only play, fell into the same category. 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) previously made into a film of the same name, 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. Several have peripheral connections to the sea: The Nylon Pirates (1960) tells a story of piracy aboard a modern ocean liner, not pirates in the traditional meaning of the word, but card-sharps, and A 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 of Malta, as it is of a priest on that island during the terrible days of World War II. Controversy [ edit | edit source ] His book The Story of Esther Costello (1952), later made into a film of the same name, while perceived as an uncomplimentary take on the life of Helen 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 of televangelism. [2] It caused a minor public outcry when it first appeared, and Keller's staff considered suing him, then tried to keep the book off the shelves. [3] His final work, unfinished at the time of his death but published in its incomplete form, was a two-volume historical novel titled The Master Mariner. Based on the legend of the Wandering Jew, it told the story of an Elizabethan 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 illustrate the central role of seamen. Autobiography [ edit | edit source ] Two non-fiction books, Life is a Four Letter Word: Breaking In (London, 1966) and Life is a Four Letter Word: Breaking Out (London, 1970) comprise Monsarrat's autobiography. Death [ edit | edit source ] Nicholas Monsarrat died 8 August 1979 in London. The Royal Navy co-operated with his wish to be buried at sea. ResoluteReader. Detailing his time in the Royal Navy during World War II, Three Corvettes is actually Monsarrat's embellished diaries. The Corvettes were a small escort ship, used to bolster the limited number of destroyers as fast, offensive ships to help counter the threat from submarines. First published during the war, this is more than a war story. In fact for much of it, we feel the tedium of days at sea, long watches were nothing happens, yet crew members are constantly alert - for a change in the weather, for enemy aircraft, or the sound of something on the sonar. There are of course moments of horror. Monsarrat details the crews they rescue from the sea after their ships are destroyed and those they cannot find. His stories are personal, emotional and powerful. They are also tragically painful. I'm fascinated that they were published during the war itself. Many of those depicted in these pages bought copies of the first volumes and read them during voyages that Monsarrat helped command. But my mind is fascinated by the reaction from those on shore who would have read them and perhaps understood for the first time what their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers were going through. There is humour, Monsarrat has the eye for a good yarn, and in particular I enjoyed the messages flashed between ships, turning the vessels themselves into characters in a story. Describing the minesweepers looking for mines he writes that: "you hear a 'WHOOMF!' You look round, and there is a small surprised ship scuttling away from a patch of boiling foam. We once saw one of them almost overwhelmed by a gigantic explosion close astern of it: a huge column of water shot into the air, hiding the ship from us. When she emerged we called her up (feeling rather shaken ourselves) and said, a trifle patronizingly: 'That was a big one.' Her reply: 'What was?' put us in out place exactly." The book tells the story of Monsarrat rise to captain his own ship. I suspect for many readers, myself included the sequence of stories and anecdotes will chiefly be of interest because it makes you realise how much of Monsarrat's most famous book, The Cruel Sea , is actually based on real experiences. In fact, some of the more horrific, or perhaps less believable parts of that work turn out to be based on the authors own time at sea. Reading this short biography makes The Cruel Sea an even more impressive novel. Three Corvettes. Nicholas Monsarrat's war, in those dark years of 1939-1945, was a ferocious, unforgiving, terrible war: the Battle of the Atlantic. An RNVR officer, he served on His Majesty's corvettes, tough little ships charged with the impossible task of seeing vital convoys safely through the packs of marauding U-boats. Between watches he kept a record of life on board, the good times and the bad, true tales of heroism, fear and all too often death. This was the war at sea as it really was. The three books were sensationally published even while the war raged about him, and make a fascinating prelude to the post-war The Cruel Sea. Also in this edition are his other short pieces on the sea, including the stories HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour and The Ship That Died of Shame. Here is some of the most dramatic literature of the sea ever written, from one of the finest writers of his generation. Отзывы - Написать отзыв. LibraryThing Review. My father was a "small" ship sailor in WW2, albeit in far different circumstances. In my early teens he pressed The Cruel Sea, one of his favorite books, upon me and I loved it. Reading Three . Читать весь отзыв. LibraryThing Review. Novellas which have the same small escort vessels in their plots as the "Compass Rose" of his major novel "The Cruel Sea". The prose is clear and the stories are engrossing. Читать весь отзыв. Three Corvettes by Nicholas Monsarrat. Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. More buying choices from other sellers on AbeBooks. Three Corvettes. Monsarrat, Nicholas. Published by Cassell, 2001. Used - Softcover Condition: Good. Paperback. Condition: Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972. Used books may not include companion materials, some shelf wear, may contain highlighting/notes, may not include cdrom or access codes. Customer service is our top priority!. More buying choices from other sellers on AbeBooks. Three Corvettes. Nicholas Monsarrat. Published by Panther Books, 1964. Used - Softcover Condition: Fair. Condition: Fair. 1964. 174 pages. Paperback book. Mild brown staining to pages on occasion. Notable tanning to pages throughout. Mild wear and tear to spine, cover edges and corners. Minor staining, soiling and creasing to covers and spine. Three Corvettes. Nicholas Monsarrat. Published by Cassell and Co Ltd, 1953. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Hardcover. Condition: Good. 7th ed. DJ may have small chips, toning and tears. Book will have been read but remains clean. Cover may have light wear or slight soiling. Pages may be slightly tanned. May contain inscriptions but text pages will be free from markings. Three Corvettes: Comprising "H.M.Corvette", "East Coast Corvette", "Corvette command" Nicholas Monsarrat. Published by Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1953. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Condition: Good. 1953. Fourth Edition. 248 pages. No dust jacket. Green cloth covered boards with red lettering to spine. Black and white photographic plates throughout. Pages and binding are presentable with no major defects. Minor issues present such as mild cracking, inscriptions, inserts, light foxing, tanning and thumb marking. Overall a good condition item. Boards have mild shelf wear with light rubbing and corner bumping. Some light marking and sunning. The Three Corvettes. Nicholas Monsarrat. Published by Cassell, 1955. Used - Hardcover Condition: Fair. Condition: Fair. 1955. Tenth Edition. 248 pages. Pictorial dust jacket over Green cloth with red lettering to spine. Black and white frontispiece and photographic plates throughout. Slight cracking to gutters with exposed netting, however binding remains firm. Pages have light tanning and foxing throughout, heavier towards front of book and text block edges. Plates are bright and clear, with some light tanning and foxing to edges. Boards have light shelf-wear with slight corner bumping. Slight crushing to spine ends with light sunning to spine and edges. Water staining to front and back boards. Unclipped jacket has moderate edgewear with chips and tears. Heavy foxing to inside and back outside panel. Water stain to inside back panel. Significant wear marks overall. Three Corvettes Paperback – 30 March 2000. "Three Corvettes" is a compilation in one volume of three shorter accounts by author Nicholas Monsarratt of his time at sea with the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. The three accounts, "HMS Corvette", "East Coast Corvette", and "Corvette Command", are arranged chronologically around Monsarratt's progression during 1940-1943 from newly-minted Sub-Lieutenant to battle-hardened Lieutenant in Command of a corvette. The collection constitutes an eye-witness account of the Allied convoys in the Battle of the North Atlantic, a story that Monsarratt would tell in thinly fictionized but more complete fashion in "The Cruel Sea", published well after the war. The three accounts were published in piece-meal fashion during the Second World War, out of Monsarratt's fear that he might not survive the fighting. The accounts reflect wartime censorship with respect to names of ships, tactics, and exact times and places; they are not meant to be a precise history. Monsarratt more than makes up for this lack of historical rigor by his keenly observant eye and equally keen understanding of human nature. "Three Corvettes" is a gripping story of very human sailors struggling to be professionals in a task that was by turns boring and terrifying, requiring the extraordinary endurance to function under harsh conditions of weather and sea and enemy attack. This book is highly recommended to the casual reader seeking an exciting account of the Second World War at sea, and to the historian seeking a authentic taste of the experience of the convoys. I just finished this wonderful book. Like most, I suppose, I'd first heard of Monsarrat through "The Cruel Sea". This is a first person account, the text broken into three chapters (originally published separately during the War) accorfding to the particular ship on which Monsarrat served, of his experiences on corvettes in the Royal Navy during World War II. The enormous pleasure given by the book is due: in part simply to the brilliance of the writing - the book is highly gripping whether or not at that moment there is anything "objectively" exciting involving the ship - and in part because the author is extraordinarily funny, insightful, sensitive, warm and smart! What a terribly funny book this is - something I hadn't expected at all - and yet there is much tragedy and much that is simply fascinating. The reader is truly there with the author on these corvettes - always the author has in mind, "What would the reader see, feel, smell, be moved by, if he were here with me right now on the deck of a corvette during the War?" Reading the book makes me terribly sad that Monsarrat has died - I'd love to have met him, seen him in interviews -- his sensitivity and charm and absolutely brilliant humor are just so evident. What a wonderful man.