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Nevil Shute Norway (1899–1960)

Nevil Shute, one of the most successful English authors in the post-war years, died from a heart attack in the Freemasons' Hospital, Melbourne, to-night.

Shute, whose full name was Nevil Shute Norway, would have been 61 next Sunday. 

He was admitted to the hospital this morning after having been in indifferent health for some months and suffering several heart attacks. He leaves a wife and two daughters. 

Shute was born in England and became a highly successful aircraft engineer and designer.

He served in the first world war as a private in the Suffolk Regiment and during the second as an officer in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, rising to the rank of lieutenant-commander.

Shute came to Australia in 1950 and settled on a farm, at Langwarrin, near Frankston, about 30 miles from Melbourne.

His best known book, "On the Beach" was filmed in Melbourne early last year and recently released throughout the world.

Shute declined to attend the Melbourne premiere because of a disagreement over alterations to his story.

His later books mostly had Australian settings and sold in tens of thousands throughout the English-speaking world.

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Citation details

'Norway, Nevil Shute (1899–1960)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/norway-nevil-shute-11262/text35091, accessed 19 March 2024.

© Copyright Obituaries Australia, 2010-2024

Life Summary [details]

Alternative Names
  • Shute, Nevil
Birth

17 January, 1899
London, Middlesex, England

Death

12 January, 1960 (aged 60)
East Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Cause of Death

stroke

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Occupation