The Nylon Pirates

by Nicholas Monsarrat

The 'Alcestis', a British luxury liner, moored in New York and bound on a cruise to the Caribbean, South America and Africa, awaits her exclusive passengers - businessmen with mid-life crises, large bank balances and unforgiving wives; legacy-laden women looking for love and adventure; and divorcees with settlements to squander. But another group of passengers threatens to upset their opulent trip. These are the twentieth-century pirates - suave, elegant, discreet and utterly unscrupulous, with a singular purpose in mind and a collection of ruthless strategies.

Genres: Fiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Born on Rodney Street in Liverpool, Monsarrat was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge. He intended to practise law. The law failed to inspire him, however, and he turned instead to writing, moving to London and supporting himself as a freelance writer for newspapers while writing four novels and a play in the space of five years (1934–1939). He later commented in his autobiography that the 1931 Invergordon Naval Mutiny influenced his interest in politics and social and economic issues after college.

Though a pacifist, Monsarrat served in World War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). His lifelong love of sailing made him a capable naval officer, and he served with distinction in a series of small warships assigned to escort convoys and protect them from enemy attack. Monsarrat ended the war as commander of a frigate, and drew on his wartime experience in his postwar sea stories. During his wartime service, Monsarrat claimed to have seen the ghost ship Flying Dutchman while sailing the Pacific, near the location where the young King George V had seen her in 1881.

Resigning his wartime commission in 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He was posted at first to Johannesburg, South Africa and then, in 1953, to Ottawa, Canada. He turned to writing full-time in 1959, settling first on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, and later on the Mediterranean island of Gozo (Malta).

Monsarrat's first three novels, published in 1934–1937 and now out of print, were realistic treatments of modern social problems informed by his leftist politics. His fourth novel and first major work, This Is The Schoolroom, took a different approach. The story of a young, idealistic, aspiring writer coming to grips with the "real world" for the first time, it is at least partly autobiographical.

The Cruel Sea (1951), Monsarrat's first postwar novel, is widely regarded as his finest work, and is the only one of his novels that is still widely read. Based on his own wartime service, it followed the young naval officer Keith Lockhart through a series of postings in corvettes and frigates. It was one of the first novels to depict life aboard the vital, but unglamorous, "small ships" of World War II—ships for which the sea was as much a threat as the Germans. Monsarrat's short-story collections H.M.S. Marlborough Will Enter Harbour (1949), and The Ship That Died of Shame (1959) mined the same literary vein, and gained popularity by association with The Cruel Sea.

The similar Three Corvettes (1945 and 1953) comprising H.M. Corvette (set aboard a Flower class corvette in the North Atlantic), East Coast Corvette (as First Lieutenant of HMS Guillemot) and Corvette Command (as Commanding Officer of HMS Shearwater) is actually an anthology of three true-experience stories he published during the war years and shows appropriate care for what the Censor might say. Thus Guillemot appears under the pseudonym Dipper and Shearwater under the pseudonym Winger in the book. H.M. Frigate is similar but deals with his time in command of two frigates. His use of the name Dipper could allude to his formative years when summer holidays were spent with his family at Trearddur Bay. They were members of the famous sailing club based there, and he recounted much of this part of his life in a book My brother Denys. Denys Monserrat was killed in Egypt during the middle part of the war whilst his brother was serving with the Royal Navy. Another tale recounts his bringing his ship into Trearddur Bay during the war for old times' sake.

Monsarrat's more famous novels, notably The Tribe That Lost Its Head (1956) and its sequel Richer Than All His Tribe (1968), drew on his experience in the diplomatic service and make important reference to the colonial experience of Britain in Africa.

Reviews

[Bryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this novel by accident when searching Overdrive (my library's ebook website) for something else, and ended up borrowing it because it looked interesting. It's a 1960 novel about a group of con artists planning to rob the passengers of a 'millionaire's cruise' blind and split the profits. I was expecting something along the lines of a heist novel, focused on daring antics and clever ploys, but what I got was something both more interesting (to me) and more conventional. Monsarrat is interested in ships and sailing and how the crew and staff of a cruise ship work together to give the passengers what they're paying for, and he's comfortable shifting POV frequently to show everyone's perspectives on what's going on. There was some very irritating sexism, some surprising awareness of racism and the history of slavery, and an utterly predictable ending that was nonetheless enjoyable. It's rather long to be what people think of as a beach read, but for me it had that quality; I kept reading because I was enjoying the ride and was curious as to what would happen next, but there was nothing in it that surprised or challenged me.

[Serge]

They call themselves the nylon pirates because nylon was the pinnacle of elegance at the time this novel was written. In fact, they are a gang of confidence men and women out to swindle the passengers of a special long cruise for very rich customers. If you have ever read any of Arthur Hailey novels, you will like this one, because, as a former naval officer, Monsarrat knows his ship inside out. Of course, the mores are dated, but the action is very entertaining, the characters colourful, and the writing at times very, very funny. A great easy read, and just maybe an eye opener for regulars on cruises.

[Andrea M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein sehr unterhaltsamer Roman. Auch wenn schon etwas betagt, immer noch aktuell.
Ich konnte mir die Gesellschaft auf der Kreuzfahrt lebhaft vorstellen.

[Greer Noble]

This has got to be one of the funniest books I ever read! Brilliant prose, superbly orchestrated as only to be expected of the great Nicholas Monsarrat! But be warned.. a 'sea cruise' as you have experienced or can envisage will never be the same again! In fact your life will never be the same again! I would half expect such a deviously constructed plan of actions from a woman.. but from a man?! Well, it's quite alarming.. an eye-opener to say the least. All I can say is 'beware'! Terrorism comes in strange packages.. and this is the strangest!

[denis watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this novel an absorbing mixture of fascinating characters and Monsarrat's usual fascinating use of his seafaring expertise. The story features an ultra expensive long cruise with very wealthy passengers. I have never been on a cruise and this entertaining novel did not encourage me to do so.
Highly recommended.