Nate Hendley was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1966. When he was an infant, Nate’s father took a position at the University of Waterloo. The family moved to Canada where Nate has lived ever since.
Nate’s book, The Beatle Bandit won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Non-Fiction 2022 and was nominated for a Heritage Toronto 2022 Book Award.
Nate’s latest book, Atrocity on the Atlantic, was published in February 2024 by Dundurn Press.
TSR: How did you get into the “true crime” genre?
In a roundabout fashion. I belonged to a writer’s group called PWAC (Professional Writers Association of Canada). PWAC would send out regular emails to members announcing seminars, meetings, jobs, etc. In the early 2000s, I received a PWAC notice about an Alberta company called Altitude Publishing. Altitude was expanding and looking for short, punchy non-fiction history books based on Ontario stories. At the time, a notorious Toronto bank robber named Edwin Alonzo Boyd had just died. I figured I could write a book about Boyd, so I sent a pitch to Altitude. They liked it, and after some back-and-forth negotiations and a contract, I wrote a manuscript for them. Edwin Alonzo Boyd: The Life and Crimes of Canada’s Master Bank Robber was published in 2003. My first book in print.
Altitude kept contacting me for follow-up books, suggesting various true-crime topics. I wrote more books for them and became their go-to true crime guy in the process.
Ironically, I hadn’t read a lot of true crime at that point, beyond the classics such as In Cold Blood by Truman Capote and Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi. I was an experienced journalist, however, so I knew how to write and recount a story in a concise, readable manner.
Also, I quickly discovered that I enjoyed writing true crime. It allows for very vivid storytelling and incorporates elements of history, economics, sociology, and politics.
TSR: Your latest book, Atrocity on the Atlantic was a departure for you in that it was centred around a war crime rather than a particular crime or criminal, such as your previous two books, The Boy on the Bicycle1 and The Beatle Bandit2. What made you pick up on that story?
Since I was a child, I have loved history. I knew nothing about the sinking of the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle in World War One, however.
Back story: a couple of years ago, I was doing a bit of online research, hoping to find a possible story topic for TVO.org (I write history-based features for the website of TVOntario). I came across a reference to the “Leipzig War Crimes Trials”. Everyone knows about the Nuremberg Trials after World War Two, but I had no idea there were also war crime trials after World War One. Reading on, my astonishment was compounded when I discovered that the pivotal case at Leipzig centred on a Canadian hospital ship, the Llandovery Castle, which was deliberately torpedoed by a German U-boat or submarine. The U-boat commander tried to murder survivors, by shelling the lifeboats. Only a single lifeboat, with Canadian medical personnel and British crew members onboard, got away.
The sinking alone was an incredible story, but I soon realized that was only the beginning. When the Llandovery Castle case went to trial in Leipzig, the German Supreme Court set two epochal precedents. The justices ruled that war crimes should be judged by international standards and that obeying orders was not a defence for committing illegal acts in wartime. These principles guided the Nuremberg Trials and other proceedings against Nazi-era defendants. They continue to shape our understanding of war crimes today.
TSR: Typically, how many days/hours/years go into research for one of your books, and do you do all the research yourself?
I do most of my own research, although my girlfriend Jeanne is very helpful in tracking down documents and books. She works for the Toronto Public Library and knows where to look for obscure bits of material that aren’t easily available. She is also a good Internet sleuth and has tracked down some hard-to-find online documents that proved very helpful. Jeanne also accompanied me to Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian War Museum, where we examined and photographed documents relating to the Llandovery Castle.
Atrocity on the Atlantic took about two years to complete. That’s the total time from coming up with the idea of a book about the Llandovery Castle sinking to receiving a box of advance copies by courier. I was still earning my keep as a journalist during this period, writing mostly business and trade magazine stories from Monday to Friday. Weekends, weeknights, and any other time I could squeeze in were devoted to the book. I did take a month off all other work to concentrate on finishing the writing and fact-checking. I lost income to complete the book.
TSR: Have any interesting experiences come your way after a book is published and a reader contacts you regarding the story?
I had an interesting experience before the book was published. One of Jeanne’s colleagues heard about my book and let me borrow a diary kept by his grandfather, who served as a medical orderly in World War One. He was stationed at a Canadian medical base that was bombed in France by German planes in 1918. I used some of his first-hand recollections in my book. It was quite amazing to find a source that virtually no one else had ever tapped before.
TSR: What can we expect from Nate Hendley next?
Lots of presentations based on Atrocity on the Atlantic. I have ideas for new books but am concentrating on promoting this one for now. I would like to revive interest in the Llandovery Castle story and frankly, I think this is my best book, so I’m proud to show it off. Also, I just simply like giving public presentations. I work at home, so doing presentations gets me out of the apartment. I meet interesting people, answer questions, sell and sign books, and get paid for my presentations, which is helpful as writing history books isn’t exactly a shortcut to wealth.
TSR: If you were not a writer, you would be______________.
Probably working in Public Relations, although I guess that represents another form of writing. If not a writer, I’m not sure what. Maybe mowing lawns.
Thanks, Nate!
Heather McBriarty, in her review at The Miramichi Reader, said of Atrocity on the Atlantic: “Engaging and illuminating, Hendley’s book brings this forgotten loss to life … A must-read for anyone interested in Canadian history.”
Nate’s website (www.natehendley.ca) details his books and background.
Back in 2022, I interviewed Nate for the TMR Podcast. You can listen to that episode here.