In 1951 Nicholas Monsarrat published his fourth book on the naval war: The Cruel Sea. Monsarrat described it as the story 'of one ocean, two ships, and about one hundred and fifty men,'In a gritty, realistic style, the book conveys the joys and the tragedies, the cruelty and the horror of the Battle of Atlantic. It focuses on the relationship between Captain George Ericson and a reserve officer who becomes his Number One. Keith Lockhart. It tells the story of HMS Compass Rose, a corvette, and HMS Saltash, a frigate, and the crews who sailed them from 1939 to 1945. The book captures the rituals of life at sea. and goes into the heart of the action. At times the description of sailing through rough seas is strong enough to make the reader almost feel seasick. The Cruel Sea is a novel, but it is based very much on Monsarrat's own wartime experiences. He had served on corvettes and on a frigate in the Atlantic for four years, rising through the ranks. He had sailed with crews whose moving human stories are reflected in the characters in The Cruel Sea.
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