South by Java Head
Encyclopedia
South by Java Head is a novel
written by Scottish
author Alistair MacLean
, and was first published in 1958
. MacLean's personal experiences in the Royal Navy
during World War II
provided part of the basis for the story.
in February 1942, just as the burning city of Singapore
is about to fall to the Imperial Japanese Army
, a tramp steamer
slips out of the harbor into the South China Sea
containing a desperate and disparate group of people, each with a secret for which they are willing to kill in order to keep safe. The Japanese are the villains, of course, the novel being set in World War II
, and the protagonist
s are a group of mixed civilians and English military personnel: a dissolute Englishman, an elegant Dutch planter, a strangely beautiful Eurasian
girl, a Malay slave trader and a mysterious man named Nicolson who is never without his gun. As with any MacLean novel, no one is exactly who they initially seem to be, and the story is filled with secret documents, double agents, traitors, and romantic subplots, not to mention repeated attacks from the Japanese.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
author Alistair MacLean
Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...
, and was first published in 1958
1958 in literature
The year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
. MacLean's personal experiences in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
provided part of the basis for the story.
Plot introduction
Set in Battle of SingaporeBattle of Singapore
The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...
in February 1942, just as the burning city of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
is about to fall to the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
, a tramp steamer
Tramp steamer
A ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule or published ports of call. As opposed to freight liners, tramp ships trade on the spot market with no fixed schedule or itinerary/ports-of-call...
slips out of the harbor into the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
containing a desperate and disparate group of people, each with a secret for which they are willing to kill in order to keep safe. The Japanese are the villains, of course, the novel being set in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s are a group of mixed civilians and English military personnel: a dissolute Englishman, an elegant Dutch planter, a strangely beautiful Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
girl, a Malay slave trader and a mysterious man named Nicolson who is never without his gun. As with any MacLean novel, no one is exactly who they initially seem to be, and the story is filled with secret documents, double agents, traitors, and romantic subplots, not to mention repeated attacks from the Japanese.
The shattered city of Singapore is surrendering to the advancing Japs. Picking their way through the smoking rubble towards the quay are a struggling party of refugees - soldiers, nurses and civilians. Dawn sees them far out to sea but with the first murderous dive bombers already aimed at their ship. Thus begins an ordeal few are to survive, a nightmare succession of disasters wrought by the hell-bent Japs, the unrelenting tropical sun and by the survivors themselves, whose hatred and bitterness divides them one against the other. - from back cover of 1961 Fontana edition