The Master Mariner, Book 1: Running Proud
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Nicholas Monsarrat |
| Products | Historical novel |
The Master Mariner represents Nicholas Monsarrat's final, incomplete two-part historical novel. Drawing inspiration from the Wandering Jew myth, it chronicles the life of Matthew Lawe, an Elizabethan English sailor condemned to eternal voyage as punishment for an act of cowardice, depicted through significant historical episodes alongside prominent personalities.
The first volume is entitled 'Running Proud'.
The dedication reads: 'by gracious permission, to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, sometime sailor, future king'.
Plot summary
Matthew Lawe, who absconded from Barnstable Poor School to pursue a life at sea, initially appears serving as coxswain to Sir Francis Drake aboard the Revenge during the 1588 Spanish Armada campaign. Tasked with leading a fire ship against the Armada, Lawe prematurely ignites it and abandons his post, leaving a wounded comrade behind to perish. Jem curses him to ‘live forever’.
After being rescued by the galleon San Virgilio, Lawe avoids execution for heresy when a prophetic witch predicts the vessel’s imminent destruction; shortly thereafter, it explodes.
By 1610, Lawe is part of Henry Hudson’s Discovery crew searching for the Northwest Passage but joins a mutiny after the ship becomes trapped in ice. The mutineers then navigate back toward England.
In 1670, Lawe serves as Mate on pirate Henry Morgan’s brigantine Cambridge but opposes Morgan’s plan to raid Panama and defects to a ruthless French captain named Simon Montbarre. Witnessing savage massacres on a reef island and losing a pregnant partner during childbirth, Lawe flees to Barbados where he discovers Morgan and Montbarre continue to hunt him.
Subsequently employed on an African trading vessel, Lawe arrives destitute in Portsmouth in 1682 during King Charles II’s reign. He earns forty golden guineas by recovering a royal cup and encounters Samuel Pepys, who is advancing naval professionalism.
After losing his fortune gambling in the South Sea Bubble and enduring imprisonment for debt, Lawe is freed through bribery and compelled into five years of service aboard a Portuguese cod-fishing ship operating on Newfoundland’s Grand Banks. He endures severe hardships including the death of a shipmate and a shipwreck near Sable Island.
In the colony of St John’s, governed oppressively by Captain Jasper Bunce, Lawe escapes by joining Royal Navy impressment aboard HMS Pembroke under Master James Cook. He aids Cook in charting Canadian waters during the British siege of Quebec in 1759 and contributes to the successful nocturnal assault on the Plains of Abraham.
Elevated to officer rank, Lawe accompanies Cook on worldwide navigational expeditions utilizing advanced instruments. He witnesses Cook’s death in Hawaii in 1779 while serving as coxswain.
Returning to London as a lieutenant during peacetime, Lawe faces financial difficulties until he reconnects with Nelson’s family estate and later recruits sailors for Nelson’s Mediterranean command aboard HMS Agamemnon.
Lawe takes part in Nelson’s Mediterranean operations including the blockade of Toulon and diplomatic engagements in Naples alongside Ambassador Sir William Hamilton and Emma Hamilton.
At the crucial 1798 Battle of the Nile, Lawe survives despite being mistakenly believed dead following Nelson’s triumph over French and Spanish fleets that cemented his legendary status.
During the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar on HMS Victory, Lawe assumes Flag-Lieutenant responsibilities after an injury and witnesses Nelson’s mortal wounding and subsequent death.
External links
- The Monsarrat Archive, BBC Radio 4