C S Forester wrote this book after spending time aboard the British cruiser HMS Penelope, and it tells the story of the part played by the fictional HMS Artemis in a battle that closely resembles the Battle of Sirte. This was an action fought between the British and Italian Royal Navies when five British cruisers fought off an attack on a Malta-bound convoy by Italian heavy units.
The book has an interesting structure. It is divided into twenty six short chapters, each of which has a heading containing a quote from the Captain's official after-action report. Each chapter concentrates on one or more of the individuals who make up the crew of the Artemis - and in one chapter the senior officers aboard the Italian flagship – telling their stories as they perform their duties aboard ship. It has the feel of a film script about it (C S Forester was – after all – a film screenwriter as well as a novelist) and it is a great pity that it has never been made into a film.
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I agree that it would have made a fine movie, given the right movie-maker.
ReplyDeleteArchduke Piccolo,
ReplyDeleteOne day perhaps ...
All the best,
Bob
I don't know this book, I must look for it at my local library. I was just thinking the other day what a cracking good read his book The Good Shepherd was, about an American destroyer in the Battle of the Atlantic, and how I regret getting rid of my copy.
ReplyDeleteMichael Peterson,
ReplyDeleteIf you liked THE GOOD SHEPHERD, I think that you will enjoy reading THE SHIP.
All the best,
Bob