Was C.S. Forester a hack, or did he have underrated literary merit?

Question

Update:

I guess he was no Conrad or Homer when it came to sea stories, but surely he must have had something going for him as a writer? 

Answer 1

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 There is one book about C.S. Forester with the Library of Congress subject heading "Forester, C S (Cecil Scott) -- Criticism and interpretation.

"C. S. Forester"by Sanford Sternlicht (Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1981)

(Twayne's English Authors series TEAS 310)  177 pages.

Since Forester's books are in print though he died in 1966, I'd say he was a good storyteller. That doesn't mean they have literary merit. Conrad's sea stories are more than sea stories, so they do have that. But a series that has been in print over 50 years has merit as a  well told yarn and thus is good popular fiction.

Answer 2

i have not a clue, why do you say he's a hack