Nicholas Monsarrat abbandonò il diritto per dedicarsi alla scrittura, immergendosi in tematiche sociali e politiche. Le sue esperienze navali durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale plasmarono profondamente la sua successiva produzione letteraria, in particolare le sue acclamate storie di mare che ritraevano senza reticenze le dure realtà del servizio bellico. Successivamente, basandosi sui suoi incarichi diplomatici, esplorò le complessità dell'Africa coloniale britannica e le relazioni umane in quel contesto. La scrittura di Monsarrat si distingue per la rappresentazione realistica di circostanze difficili e l'acuta analisi di personaggi che affrontano avversità estreme.
Recognized for its cultural significance, this work contributes to the foundational knowledge of civilization. Scholars have highlighted its importance, making it a vital resource for understanding historical and societal contexts.
The turbulent Thirties, and across Europe cry the discordant voices of hunger and death, most notably in Spain, where a civil war rages. Aspiring writer, Marcus Hendrycks, has had a safe, cloistered existence in Cambridge, but joins the fight against the fascists. He discovers that life itself is the real schoolroom.
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.
On the icy slopes of the great ice-mountain of Bylot Island, set against the metallic blue of the Canadian Arctic sky, Shepherd has a vision of the world as it used to be, before the human race was weakened by stupidity and greed. Peter Benton, the young journalist to whom Shepherd tells his story, is dramatically snapped out of his cozy cynicism and indolent denial of responsibility, to face a dreadful reality. He discovers that he can no longer take a back-seat in the rapid self-destruction of the world, and is forced to make a momentous decision.
Contains 23 accounts of daring escapes from captivity and courageous battles against death. Episodes from thrilling real life adventures and from some of the worlds most exciting fiction make up this outstanding collection. Atmospheric line drawings bring each story to life.