I learned about the author, Frederick Marryat, while reading a book on boys fighting in the Napoleonic War. I thought he seemed interesting so I read a biography on him and learned that he wrote Naval Fiction (a favorite genre of mine).

This book is one of the single best naval fictions I've ever read. And it is actually written by a man who served through several engagments at the time. I cannot recommend this book more strongly.

And its even better when you know all of the engagements and characters that he is referring to! ( )

Frank Mildmay is a rogue and a rascal who cuts a memorable swath as he moves up the ranks of the early 19th-century Royal Navy. Whether seducing pretty girls ashore, braving hurricanes at sea or scrambling aboard a French privateer with cutlass bared, Mildmay and his adventures live on! The author of Frank Mildmay or The Naval Officer was an actual 19th-century British naval hero who lived a saga worthy of the novels of C.S. Forester or Patrick O'Brian. Captain Frederick Marryat survived fifty naval battles and served on the crack frigate Imperieuse under Lord Cochrane - the real-life model for Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey. Frank Mildmay, Captain Marryat's first novel, is said to be partly autobiographical. He completed it while fitting out his last command, the 27-gun Ariadne.

My favourite book by this author. When I read this book I became a fan. ( )