H. Taprell Dorling H. Taprell Dorling Captain Henry Taprell Dorling (1883-1968) was a British sailor, author, and journalist who served in the Royal Navy during both world wars, giving his marine fact and fiction a notable authenticity. His Pincher Martin, O.D. (1916) is widely referenced as the source for Pincher Martin (1956) by Nobel prizewinner William Golding. He wrote under the name Taffrail. Dorling was born in Berwick, the second son of Colonel Francis Dorling, and named Taprell Henry, but later changed the order of his names. He entered the HMS "Britannia" in August 1897, his 1113 marks placing him fifty-eighth in merit
Pincher Martin who uses his intelligence, education and training to source food, collect fresh water and alert any potential rescuers. It is in fact during this rational phase that Martin is at his most delusional. It is only when insanity takes hold that he begins to comprehend the reality of his predicament: 'There is a pattern emerging. I do not know what the pattern is but even my dim guess at it makes my reason falter'. The novel's twist ending reveals that Martin actually drowned shortly after his ship was sunk; when his body is found, it is noted that "he didn't