Captain Marryat was a midshipman under Lord Cochrane during the Napoleonic Wars -- and Lord Cochrane is the real life inspiration for many fictional naval heroes from Horatio Hornblower to Jack Aubrey. Marryat's first novel was widely believed to be autobiographic, and is an exquisitely detailed portrait of life at sea and the coming of age of a young rascal, Frank Mildmay. Marryat dwells up on the small details of nautical life, dismissing large actions, such as the Battle of Trafalgar with "but everybody knows what happened there." Instead he focusses on the small actions, and we discovered that the etiquette of naval combat meant that battleships did not fire upon frigates unless fired upon first. Numerous incidents, comic, tragic, and lascivious, are detailed as young Frank succumbs to vice but eventually reforms himself. To read this novel is like sitting over a tankard of ale listening to sailor's tales -- some of which might actually be true. (M. Kei)
About the Author
Captain Frederick Marryat CB FRS (10 July 1792 - 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer and novelist. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy (1836). He is remembered also for his children's novel The Children of the New Forest (1847). In addition, he developed a widely used system of maritime flag signalling, known as Marryat's Code.
From 1832 to 1835, Marryat edited The Metropolitan Magazine. Additionally, he kept writing novels; his biggest success came with Mr Midshipman Easy in 1836. He lived in Brussels for a year, travelled in Canada and the United States, and moved to London in 1839, where he was in the literary circle of Charles Dickens and others. He was in North America in 1837 when rebellion broke out in Lower Canada, and served with the expeditionary force sent to suppress it.
Marryat's novels are typical of their time, with concerns of family connections and social status often overshadowing the naval action. He based much of his fiction on his 25 years' experience at sea. Among those who admired his works were Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad, and Ernest Hemingway. As the first nautical novels, they served as models for 20th century works by C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian. These also were set in the time of Nelson and told of young men rising through the ranks due to their successes as naval officers.
Marryat was also known for short writings on nautical subjects. These short stories, plays, pieces of travel journalism, and essays were published in The Metropolitan Magazine, and many were later collected in book form as Olla Podrida.
Marryat's 1839 Gothic novel The Phantom Ship contained "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". This featured the first female werewolf to appear in a short story.
In 1839, Marryat also published his Diary in America, a travelogue that reflects his criticisms of American culture and society. The book and the author were both subject to acts of violence. The book and Marryat's effigy were each burned in public.
Controversy arose among Marryat's readers. Some criticized him for careless writing, others admired his vivacity about life at sea. His later novels were generally for the children's market, including his most famous novel today: The Children of the New Forest, published in 1847 and set in the countryside round the village of Sway, Hampshire.
The works of Marryat are considered by the maritime historians of today to be a reliable source on the operation and characteristics of the sailing vessels of his time. (wikipedia.org)
