The Guns of Navarone (novel)
First edition cover (UK)
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| Author | Alistair MacLean |
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| Cover artist | John Rose |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Collins (UK) |
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Publication date
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1957 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 288 |
| Preceded by | HMS Ulysses |
| Followed by | South by Java Head |
The Guns of Navarone is a 1957 novel about the Second World War by Scottish writer Alistair MacLean that was made into the film The Guns of Navarone in 1961. The Greek island of Navarone does not exist and the plot is fictitious; however, the story takes place within the real historical context of the Dodecanese Campaign, the Allies' campaign to capture the German-held Greek islands in the Aegean Sea in 1943. The story is based on the Battle of Leros, and Leros island's coastal artillery guns — among the largest naval artillery guns used during World War II — that were built and used by the Italians until Italy capitulated in 1943 and subsequently used by the Germans until their defeat.
The story concerns the efforts of an Allied commando team to destroy a seemingly impregnable German fortress that threatens Allied naval ships in the Aegean Sea, and prevents over 1,200 isolated British soldiers from being rescued. The story is based on the real events surrounding the Battle of Leros in World War II.
The Guns of Navarone brings together elements that would characterise much of MacLean's subsequent works: tough, competent, worldly men as main characters; frequent but non-graphic violence; betrayal of the hero(es) by a trusted associate; and extensive use of the sea and other dangerous environments as settings. Its three principal characters — New Zealand mountaineer-turned-commando Keith Mallory, American demolitions expert "Dusty" Miller, and Greek resistance fighter Andrea — are among the most fully drawn in all of MacLean's work.
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