The Kappillan of Malta

Front Cover
Orion, Apr 9, 2012 - Fiction - 464 pages

'One of the most memorable characters of post-war fiction' Daily Express

A classic novel set in the siege of Malta 1940-1942 from the bestselling author of The Cruel Sea


Father Salvatore was a simple, lumbering priest, a Kappillan serving the poor Valetta, when war came out of the blue skies to pound the island to dust.

Now amid the catacombs discovered by a chance bomb, he cared for the flood of homeless, starving, frightened people who sought shelter from the death that fell unceasingly from the sky.

His story, and the story of Malta, is told in superbly graphic pictures of six days during the siege. Each of those days brought forth from the Kappillan a message of inspiration to keep them going - the legendary tales of six mighty events of Malta's history which shone through the centuries and gathered them together in a fervent belief in their survival.

Other editions - View all

About the author (2012)

Nicholas Monsarrat was born in Liverpool in 1910, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. He served in World War II, first as a member of an ambulance brigade and then as a member of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His lifelong love of sailing made him a capable naval officer, and he served with distinction on a series of small warships. Resigning his wartime commission in 1946, Monsarrat entered the diplomatic service. He turned to writing full time in 1959, settling on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. He died of cancer in 1979 and was buried at sea from a destroyer, off Portsmouth.

Bibliographic information