Why, hello there! It seems I have just had the great and remarkable pleasure of stumbling upon a Frederick Marryat blog!
To begin with, I confess that I know near to nothing about Marryat, save for that which I learned through reading (and falling in love with) "The King's Own" a few years ago. However, seeing as I have always been the only person in my circles who is at all aware of Marryat's existence, I was more than a little surprised to find an entire blog about him and his work, haha.
Anyway, I am simply here to say my warm greetings, and to express appreciation for the very existence of this Marryat-themed corner of the Internet! As to myself, I certainly plan to explore more of his writings in the future, and do some reading on the man himself.
Well, that is all from me. I wish a most pleasant day to you, dear blog creator! ^^
Thank you for this lovely message! Asks like this make my day, because I know how challenging it is to find other Marryat fans.
The King's Own is one of my personal favorites, too! It's almost like a guilty pleasure because it's a rough novel in many places (and comes crashing to an end, as you know). Willy, the tragic protagonist, is based on Captain Marryat's second son William, who died at only seven years of age. (This is according to Marryat's daughter Florence, who edited and published The Life and Letters of Captain Frederick Marryat.)
In this blog you will also find several attempts to make Marryat book recs. I highly recommend the semi-autobiographical Frank Mildmay (The Naval Officer), if you enjoyed The King's Own, and also Mr. Midshipman Easy, Poor Jack, Percival Keene, Peter Simple, and Jacob Faithful.
You are in for a real treat! Marryat himself is a deeply fascinating person, a window into the world of his era. I use the tag 'biography' for posts about Marryat's life, and quotes from his several biographers. For all of the nautical jargon in his books, I have found The Sailor's Word-Book by Admiral W.H. Smyth to be an indispensable guide. It's free on Google Books and Internet Archive.
I hope you enjoy this blog, and I'm always up for a Marryat discussion (even if it takes me awhile to respond!)
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