Frederick Marryat (1792‐1848) is described by his biographer as “the most celebrated English novelist between Jane Austen and Charles Dickens”, which may be true provided Scott is not regarded as an English novelist. His particular claim to fame is that he originated the maritime novel of the Napoleonic Wars which is still a popular type in our day. He, of course, did so not as a matter of historical reconstruction, but on the basis of his own memories, for he had served with distinction in the latter half of what the nineteenth century called “The Great War”. His experiences varied from the perilous, as when he formed part of the crew of an explosive ship devised by his mentor, the enterprising Lord Cochrane, to the amusing, as when he served under an aristocratic but ignorant captain who was wont to give orders such as; “Mr What’s‐his‐name, have the goodness to what‐do‐yecall‐’em the thingumbob’’. Like most naval officers, he served at sea only occasionally after 1815, but had the opportunity to participate in the Navy’s first use of steamships in action, in the Burmese War of 1824. He had meanwhile become a Fellow of the Royal Society because its President enjoyed his caricatures (some of which are reproduced).
Having retired from the Navy on the success of his first novel, he produced a series of tales of naval life such as Mr Midshipman Easy and Peter Simple (whence the title of the well‐known Daily Telegraph column). These were not only very popular, but have been praised for their realism by such a competent judge as Joseph Conrad. However, Marryat was astute enough to realise when that vein was worn out, whereon he turned to different literary genres such as his novels for children (of which the best known is The Children of the New Forest) and a detailed and controversial account of his travels in the USA, which inspired a similar work by his friend the young Dickens. These are only a few of the adventures and achievements chronicled in this readable biography by a well‐regarded naval historian of the period. Since library users will want to read the whole of Marryat’s eventful life, this is a book for the lending rather than the reference shelves, and it is certain to bring its readers back to inquire for his novels.
