The Role of History in Nicholas Monsarrat's 'The Kappillan of Malta'

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3 (A), University of Siegen (Anglistics Institute), course: Anglophone Literature in Malta, language: English, abstract: Nicholas Monsarrat may be one of the most well-known and most influential Anglophone writers of Malta, especially when it comes to historical novels. Books such as 'A Cruel Sea' are known far over the borders of Malta. As history is crucial to most of his novels, and as 'The Kappilan of Malta' makes use of it rather frequently, my interest in this essay is laid on the role that history adopts in this novel. To analyse the enormous amount of historical happenings that are dealt with in this book would be far too much work for one essay so the work had to be reduced to some important points. The essay will deal with several points of the use of history within the book. Means of influencing the reader will be observed and analysed and examples for adjustments to real events will be discussed. I will try to outline in this paper, that the use of history is crucial to the story of the book as well as to the message to the Maltese to never give up hope and to take measures into the ir own hands.