Scarce with the first issue wrapper

Monsarrat, Nicholas ~ The Cruel Sea

First UK Printing : Cassell & Company Ltd., London : 1951

The First UK Printing published by Cassell & Company Ltd., London in 1951. 8vo., blue publisher's cloth, lettered with decorative borders in silver to spine; together in the clipped pictorial wrapper showing a wraparound image of a raging ocean; The BOOK slightly pushed and darkened to the spine ends; a little light spotting to the prelims, outer edges of text block which occasionally encroaches onto the page edges due to the quality of the paper stock used ; Very Good++ overall; The WRAPPER neatly price-clipped and is in Very Good++ condition , though with some loss to the to head of spine causing a little loss to the title lettering; lightly rubbed and very slight losses to ends of folds; one short closed tear to the upper edge of the rear panel. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. This the true first trade edition, not to be confused with the more commonly encountered 'Book Society' edition. With the correct first issue wrapper in collectible condition. Monsarrat's first postwar novel is widely considered to be his best work. Based on his own wartime service in the Navy (during which time he was a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve), the plot follows protagonist Keith Lockhart during a series of postings in corvettes and frigates - which were responsible for escorting convoys and protecting them from enemy attack. Upon publication, it was critically acclaimed for its frank and often unromantic account of life on small boats during the Second World War - a time in which the changeable ocean conditions posed as much of a risk as the war itself. Each of the seven chapters contained within describes a year during the war. The book formed the basis of the 1953 British film with the screenplay by Eric Ambler, and starring Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. Though still harrowing, the film adaptation nonetheless omits some of the more sombre moments which appear in the book. A lovely copy of this wartime classic, seldom found in this state.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++
JACKET: Very Good++