Frederick marryat was born in London July 10 1792. He was a sailor and reached the degree of captain in the Royal Navy British. It was also friend of Charles Dickens and one of the early writers of novels about life at sea. I discovered it because of my love of the genre. So today I bring 5 of his books, very appropriate for these days of rest, heat and light reading.
Frederick marryat
Marryat joined the Royal Navy at age 14 where he served until age 38. He participated in the war of 1812 y became captain thanks to excel in numerous missions both war and science. When he left the navy he devoted himself entirely to literature. It was author of stories and novels, both based on the life of the sea and dedicated to the youth literature or victorian horror.
All the scenes and experiences of his life at sea are the basis and essence of his novels. The first, Frank Mildmay, was published in 1829, and was followed by more than thirty, among which its autobiographical title stands out Midshipman Easy.
En general, his work is typical of his time, with concerns for family and social status that often overshadow action at sea. They admired it great writers like Joseph Conrad or Ernest Hemingway, and also influenced CS Forester and the most outstanding of all in the genre, Patrick O'Brian. In its last stage too wrote for the children. His most famous title was The captives of the forest.
5 novels
King's Property
William seymour he is a young orphan who is destined for the service of the king, and you will have to embark on the Aspasia, a ship where you will find all kinds of adventures and battles against the French enemy. Some of the characters and events it tells are based directly on real experiences, such as the description of a fight in the middle of a great storm.
The ghost ship
Marryat brings us in this title the legend of The Flying Dutchman, the most famous ghost ship in the world. The original legend began with the captain of a Dutch ship named William Vanderdecken, who made a pact with the devil to be able to always sail the seas regardless of the natural phenomena that God put in his journey. But when God finds out, in punishment he condemns him to eternally sail aimlessly and without touching land.
How to write a travel book
Marryat wrote here, with great humor and wit, a funny satire on travel book fashion that was all the rage in his time. It relates a series of tips for a travel story where the traveler does not have to set foot in the country he wants to visit. A very topical issue also in the XNUMXst century.
Newton Forster Adventures
Newton Forster is the protagonist of this novel that must survive bloody battles with the sea and the men, who lead him to shipwreck in the Indies and they prevent him from obtaining a position in the mythical Company of the same name. And it is a position in which he will become a captain, that is, a man of the sea.
The devil dog
In this title we are going to 1699 where we meet the sloop yungfrau, whose mission is to patrol the English Channel. He is to prevent smuggling from the French shores, and his commanding officer, Lieutenant Cornelis vanslyperkenIt is also King William's royal courier with the Estates General of Holland.
However the protagonist of this novel is his dog Malaspulgas, with a pitiful physical appearance and a treacherous look that make him an object of hatred by the entire crew. It is smallbones, a young servant of Cornelis, who decides to declare a war without quarter backed by his companions. But to everyone's surprise, despite their constant struggles, the dog always manages to survive and a legend is forged of his both supernatural and diabolical character.