''The Wreck of the Mary Deare'' (in the UK published as ''The Mary Deare'') is a

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

novel written by British author

Hammond Innes Ralph Hammond Innes (15 July 1913 – 10 June 1998) was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as works for children and travel books. Biography Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Feltonfleet School, Cobham, Surrey ...

, which was later adapted as a film starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

released in 1959 by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. According to Jack Adrian, the book "at a stroke launched him into that rarefied empyrean most writers yearn for though few attain, supersellerdom."Obituary: Hammond Innes - Arts & Entertainment - The Independent
/ref> It tells the story of a very old ship described as "a deathtrap of rattling rivets", which is found adrift at sea by salvager John Sands. Sands boards it hoping to claim it for salvage, but finds the first officer, Gideon Patch, still aboard and trying to run the ship on his own. Patch convinces Sands to help him beach the ship, even though it will void his salvage claim. When they return to London, Patch is brought before a board of inquiry to determine what happened. It soon becomes apparent that the shipowners were planning to wreck the ''Mary Deare'' all along and have Patch as the

fall guy Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party. Origin The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...

. The success of the book - and the 1959 film based on it starring

- enabled Innes to buy his own 42 ft ocean racer, which he named ''Mary Deare''.

References

1956 British novels British thriller novels Novels by Hammond Innes William Collins, Sons books British novels adapted into films {{1950s-thriller-novel-stub

See also

References