It is no coincidence that many of Alistair MacLean's most successful
novels were sea stories. In 1941, he was called up after volunteering
for the Royal Navy and served as Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and
Leading Torpedo Operator. For the majority of his service, he was on HMS
Royalist, a modified Dido-class light cruiser, seeing action in the
Arctic, and operations against the German battleship Tirpitz. The ship
then deployed to the Mediterranean taking part in Operation Dragoon the
invasion of the South of France and later in operations against German
occupied Greek Islands in the Aegean. After which MacLean and Royalist
were deployed to the Indian Ocean and operations against the Japanese in
Malaya, Burma, and Sumatra.
His wartime experiences coupled with exceptional literary skill resulted
in the runaway success of his first novel HMS Ulysses (1955) followed
by The Guns of Navarone (1957) and South by Java Head (1958). These
three blockbusters cemented his position as one of the most successful
and highly paid authors of the era.
While not a whole life biography, Mark Simmon's book provides a
fascinating insight into Maclean's war service and subsequent works,
which deserve enduring popularity.
