When Eight Bells Toll
Encyclopedia
When Eight Bells Toll is a novel
written by Scottish
author Alistair MacLean
and published in 1966
. It marked MacLean's return after a three year gap following the publication of Ice Station Zebra. It combines the genres of spy novel and detective novel, with considerable success. MacLean calls on his own Scottish background to authentically portray the rugged weather, people and terrain of western Scotland.
. British Treasury
secret agent Phillip Calvert is sent to investigate, and narrates the story for the reader. Calvert manages to track the latest hijacked ship - the Nantesville, carrying £8 million in gold bullion - to the Scottish Highlands
and the sleepy port town of Torbay on the Island of Torbay (patterned after Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull
). He boards the ship under cover of night and finds the two agents planted aboard have been murdered. Chief suspect is Cypriot
shipping magnate Sir Anthony Skouros, whose luxury yacht, Shangri-La, is also anchored in Torbay.
Operating out of his yacht Firecrest, Calvert is joined by Skouros's wife, Charlotte, and by his boss Sir Arthur Arnford-Jason, known as "Uncle Arthur". Calvert is a typical MacLean hero, world-weary and sometimes cynical, yet ultimately honorable, who must battle bureaucracy as well as the bad guys to solve the crime. Calvert's frantic search for the hijackers and for the hostages they hold takes him over the remote isles and sea lochs and forces him to make allies of some unlikely locals. As is usual with MacLean, the plot twists and turns, not all characters are as they seem to be at first introduction, and the double-crosses continue to the very last page.
appeared in a 1971 theatrical
release directed by Etienne Perier
and starring Anthony Hopkins
as Calvert, Robert Morley
as Uncle Arthur, and Jack Hawkins
as Skouros.
's film Aradhana
, Sharmila Tagore
was seen reading this book during the song "mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu".
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 published in 1966
1966 in literature
The year 1966 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 14 - Dissident writers Yuli Daniel and Andrei Sinyavsky are sentenced to hard labour for "anti-Soviet activity"....
. It marked MacLean's return after a three year gap following the publication of Ice Station Zebra. It combines the genres of spy novel and detective novel, with considerable success. MacLean calls on his own Scottish background to authentically portray the rugged weather, people and terrain of western Scotland.
Plot introduction
The story concerns the hijacking of five cargo ships in the Irish SeaIrish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. British Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
secret agent Phillip Calvert is sent to investigate, and narrates the story for the reader. Calvert manages to track the latest hijacked ship - the Nantesville, carrying £8 million in gold bullion - to the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
and the sleepy port town of Torbay on the Island of Torbay (patterned after Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
). He boards the ship under cover of night and finds the two agents planted aboard have been murdered. Chief suspect is Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
shipping magnate Sir Anthony Skouros, whose luxury yacht, Shangri-La, is also anchored in Torbay.
Operating out of his yacht Firecrest, Calvert is joined by Skouros's wife, Charlotte, and by his boss Sir Arthur Arnford-Jason, known as "Uncle Arthur". Calvert is a typical MacLean hero, world-weary and sometimes cynical, yet ultimately honorable, who must battle bureaucracy as well as the bad guys to solve the crime. Calvert's frantic search for the hijackers and for the hostages they hold takes him over the remote isles and sea lochs and forces him to make allies of some unlikely locals. As is usual with MacLean, the plot twists and turns, not all characters are as they seem to be at first introduction, and the double-crosses continue to the very last page.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
When Eight Bells TollWhen Eight Bells Toll (1971 film)
When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film's poor box office...
appeared in a 1971 theatrical
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
release directed by Etienne Perier
Étienne Périer (director)
Étienne Périer is a Belgian film director.- Filmography :* 1956 : Bernard Buffet* 1958 : Meurtre en 45 tours with Michel Auclair as Jean Le Prat...
and starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as Calvert, Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
as Uncle Arthur, and Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
as Skouros.
Use in films
In Shakti SamantaShakti Samanta
Shakti Samanta was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films like Howrah Bridge, China Town, Kashmir Ki Kali, An Evening in Paris, Kati Patang and Amar Prem.He received Filmfare Awards for Best Film for Aradhana, Anuraag and Amanush,...
's film Aradhana
Aradhana
Aradhana is a 1969 Bollywood film directed by Shakti Samanta and starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. It is a remake of the 1946 Hollywood film To Each His Own. It was voted best film of the year by the Filmfare Awards...
, Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore
Sharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances.She has led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011...
was seen reading this book during the song "mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu".