Nevil Shute

Nevil Shute (London, January 17, 1899 – Melbourne, January 12, 1960) (full name Nevil Shute Norway) was one of the most popular novelists of the mid-20th century. His stories and characters have a genuine sweetness to them, which occasionally becomes cloying, but which helps explain why a half-century after his death, virtually all his books remain in print.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shute's works are generally adventure novels told in a low-key but engrossing style, often with an emphasis on technical areas. No Highway (1948), for example, builds drama around structure failure in an airplane design. Several of his novels also have a supernatural element, notably Round the Bend (1951), which concerns a new religion growing up around an airplane mechanic. Shute's best-known book was one of his last: On the Beach (1957), set in a world slowly dying from the effects of an atomic war. Its popularity is due in part to its adaptation into a film, which Shute despised because of the liberties taken with his characters.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

January 17: January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 348 days remaining (349 in leap years)....

1899: 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar)....

Melbourne: Melbourne is the capital and largest city of the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of 3.8 million in the Melbourne metropolitan area (June 2004) and 69,670 in the City of Melbourne (which covers only the central city area). The city's name ...