Publisher's Synopsis
Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 - 9 August 1848) was a British Royal Navy officer, novelist, and an acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story. He is now known particularly for the semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy and his children's novel The Children of the New Forest, and for a widely used system of maritime flag signalling, known as Marryat's Code.Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) was an English novelist, a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story. He is now known particularly for the semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy (1836) and his children's novel The Children of the New Forest (1847). After trying to run away to sea several times, he was permitted to enter the Royal Navy in 1806, as a midshipman on board HMS Imperieuse. In 1829 he was commanding the frigate HMS Ariadne on a mission to search for shoals around the Madeira and Canary Islands. This was an uninspiring exercise, and between that and the recent publication of his first novel, The Naval Officer (1829) he decided to resign his commission and take up writing full time. Other works include The King's Own (1830), Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service (1832), Peter Simple, and The Three Cutters (1834), Jacob Faithful (1834), The Pacha of Many Tales (1835), Japhet, in Search of a Father (1836), The Pirate (1836), The Phantom Ship (1839), Poor Jack (1840), Masterman Ready (1841), Percival Keene (1842), The Privateersman (1846) and The Mission; or, Scenes in Africa (1845). Marryat then turned to scientific studies. He invented a lifeboat, which earned him a gold medal from the Royal Humane Society and the nickname "Lifeboat." Based on his experience in the Napoleonic Wars escorting merchant ships in convoys, he developed a practical, widely used system of maritime flag signalling known as Marryat's Code. During his scientific studies in 1818, he described a new gastropod genus Cyclostrema with the type species Cyclostrema cancellatum Marryat, 1818. In 1819, Marryat married Catherine Shairp, with whom he had four sons (of whom only the youngest Frank outlived him) and seven daughters, including Florence, a prolific novelist and his biographer; Emilia, a writer of moralist adventure novels in her father's vein; and Augusta, also a writer of adventure fiction. Around this time, Marryat collaborated with George Cruikshank the caricaturist to produce The New Union Club, an extravagant satire against abolitionism. In 1820, Marryat commanded the sloop HMS Beaver and temporarily commanded HMS Rosario for the purpose of bringing back to England the despatches announcing the death of Napoleon on Saint Helena. He also took the opportunity to make a sketch of Napoleon's body on his deathbed, which was later published as a lithograph. His artistic skills were modest, but his sketches of shipboard life above and below deck have considerable charm. In 1823, he was appointed to HMS Larne and took part in an expedition against Burma in 1824. (This expedition resulted in large losses due to disease.) He was promoted to command the 28-gun HMS Tees, which gave him the rank of post-captain. He was back in England in 1826. In 1829, he was commanding the frigate HMS Ariadne on a mission to search for shoals around the Madeira and Canary Islands. This was an uninspiring exercise and, between that and the recent publication of his first novel The Naval Officer, he decided to resign his commission in November 1830 and take up writing full time....
