Famous author’s link with Hermanus

Writer Dr Robin Lee

British author, Nicholas Monsarrat (1910 –1979) spent several years in South Africa after World War II. Some of this time he spent in Hermanus, where he found The Marine Hotel a conducive place to work on his first and best-selling novel, The Cruel Sea.

At the end of the book, there appears the following information as to where the novelist lived while writing the book: Hermanus, Cape Province – Johannesburg, Transvaal, April 1948 – May 1950. A book that would sell over 11 million copies, in 23 languages, and be made into a famous film was partly the product of the writer’s time in Hermanus.

Monsarrat was a disciplined and prolific writer, having to work hard and publish regularly to keep up with the expenses of his lavish lifestyle. Luckily for him, seven of his 15 novels were made into films, which earned much more for him than book sales did.

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