Captain Marryat: Seaman, Writer and Adventurer

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...