C. P. Snow, Death Under Sail

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Death Under Sail

(1932; revised edn, 1959), C. P. Snow’s first published novel, is a detective story set on the Norfolk Broads. It is a competent example of the genre which also anticipates in some respects Snow’s subsequent non-genre fiction. Its focus on the “play of forces” (37) among a small knot of characters “in a self-contained society” (118) both conforms to one of the conventions of the classic detective story and announces an interest in group dynamics which Snow will pursue in the eleven-book “Strangers and Brothers” series (especially

The Masters

(1951) and

The Affair

(1960)) and in his post-“Strangers and Brothers” fiction (particularly

The Malcontents

(1972)).

Death Under Sail

also resembles the “Strangers and Brothers” series, and Snow’s third…

1503 words

Citation: Tredell, Nicolas. "Death Under Sail". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19404, accessed 28 March 2024.]

19404 Death Under Sail 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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