Cracked by the convoys
Sailor's Heart, by Martin Campbell
Set
in the dark days of 1942, Martin Campbell's historical novel is about the lives of three seafarers fighting for their country in the Arctic Convoys. Cracking under the intense pressure, they are sent for experimental treatment at Kielder so that they can be returned to battle.
Campbell's novel goes into the suffering of people pushed past breaking point, and the work of psychiatrists expected to 'repair' those who are seen not so much as human beings but faulty parts in the war machine. The main characters are fictional, but the background is all real – and dark. Not a novel for the faint-hearted, but certainly for those interested in a compelling and neglected part of maritime history.
Sailor's Heart
By Martin Campbell
Self-published, £11.95 (available in the Nautilus Bookshop)
ISBN: 979 15272 54824
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Salvage story told through a treasure trove of images
In the Wake of the Empress of Ireland By David Saint-PierreThe sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914 remains the worst peacetime disaster in Canadian history. Of the 1,477 people onboard, 1,012 died as the ocean liner went down in just 14 minutes.
Fighting on after D-Day
Normandy: The Sailors’ Story By Nick HewittTo tie in with the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year, Yale University Press published this detailed and readable book by veteran ship restorer and historian Nick Hewitt, which puts the efforts of the Allied navies in the Battle for France centre stage.
Scotland's WW2 supply crews
Never to Return: Convoys to Russia and the Second World War By Roderick G MacleanAs remembrance season approaches, we often look out for new titles on the Merchant Navy in wartime, and Never to Return fits the bill this year.
New northern take on the Titanic tragedy
Titanic: The Greater Manchester Connections by James W BancroftFew maritime tragedies have held such a place in the public imagination as that of the Titanic. The tales and testimonies of passengers aboard that doomed voyage in 1912 have inspired countless books and several film adaptations, some more fictionalised than others.