Mr Midshipman Easy was written 1836 about the Napoleonic wars, in which Marryat himself had served with some distinction, attaining the rank of captain before he retired. When Marryat first joined the Navy he had served as a midshipman under the famous Captain Thomas Cochrane; one of the inspirations for characters like C S Forester’s Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey. Add to that the fact that he was much admired as a novelist by the likes of Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad and Earnest Hemingway and it’s hard to imagine anyone being better suited to writing exciting nautical adventures set in the Napoleonic Wars. However it is a mistake to approach this book as simply a more authentic version of Hornblower or Aubrey, rather, characteristic of his time, family and social issues tend to overshadow the naval actions. In fact around the middle of the book Marryat even interrupts the narrative for several pages to address the reader directly and justify the death of a character in a duel based upon a social transgression and continuing with a defence against the criticism of his writings being too critical of the Navy of the time. He even describes with, no little hubris, how a humanitarian approach to punishment described in one of his books came to be adopted by the navy as formal procedure. The end result is a slightly strange mix of social commentary and Boys’ Own style adventure written with a heavy dose of wry humour and a slightly trying love of puns.
Jack Easy is the only son of a wealthy landowner with somewhat unusual beliefs in the equality of all men, especially when laid against the then current fear of the spread of revolution from France. These beliefs are firmly instilled in Jack’s developing teenage mind and then taken with him into the navy. The reader gets no prizes for guessing that this will not make a harmonious mix. These beliefs are constantly challenged throughout the book and highlighted by Easy’s strong friendship for Mesty, who, so he tells us, used to be a ‘prince’ in his land before being taken as a slave and eventually ending up a lowly cook. Jack considers that everyone is born equal, including Mesty, for which he duly receives Mesty’s love. Throughout the book the social distance between Jack and Mesty is constantly used to highlight both the strengths and flaws of Jacks egalitarian beliefs. However late in the book we get the following:
" Now I tink a good deal lately, and by all de power, I tink equality all stuff."
"All stuff, Mesty, why? You used to think otherwise."
"Yes, Massa Easy, but den I boil de kettle for all young gentleman. Now dat I ship's corporal and hab cane, I tink so no longer."
A rather nice summary of the parallel change in Jack’s thinking.
However the book is my no means just a social commentary. It is also a coming-of-age adventure but even here much of Jack’s adventures take place on land rather than at sea. And a fairly unlikely set of adventures they are, especially in the largely absent consequences experienced by Jack. These aspects of the book would definitely put it in the young adult category today; not surprising considering much of Marryat’s later output was books for children. But they do make for an enjoyable piece of adventurous hokum.
It’s a fun romp, an interesting social commentary and age-of-sail writing straight from the pen of a man who experienced it himself. A slightly odd mix but one that did somehow work for me. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr Midshipman Easy and will probably read more from Marryat.
4/5 stars
Jack Easy is the only son of a wealthy landowner with somewhat unusual beliefs in the equality of all men, especially when laid against the then current fear of the spread of revolution from France. These beliefs are firmly instilled in Jack’s developing teenage mind and then taken with him into the navy. The reader gets no prizes for guessing that this will not make a harmonious mix. These beliefs are constantly challenged throughout the book and highlighted by Easy’s strong friendship for Mesty, who, so he tells us, used to be a ‘prince’ in his land before being taken as a slave and eventually ending up a lowly cook. Jack considers that everyone is born equal, including Mesty, for which he duly receives Mesty’s love. Throughout the book the social distance between Jack and Mesty is constantly used to highlight both the strengths and flaws of Jacks egalitarian beliefs. However late in the book we get the following:
" Now I tink a good deal lately, and by all de power, I tink equality all stuff."
"All stuff, Mesty, why? You used to think otherwise."
"Yes, Massa Easy, but den I boil de kettle for all young gentleman. Now dat I ship's corporal and hab cane, I tink so no longer."
A rather nice summary of the parallel change in Jack’s thinking.
However the book is my no means just a social commentary. It is also a coming-of-age adventure but even here much of Jack’s adventures take place on land rather than at sea. And a fairly unlikely set of adventures they are, especially in the largely absent consequences experienced by Jack. These aspects of the book would definitely put it in the young adult category today; not surprising considering much of Marryat’s later output was books for children. But they do make for an enjoyable piece of adventurous hokum.
It’s a fun romp, an interesting social commentary and age-of-sail writing straight from the pen of a man who experienced it himself. A slightly odd mix but one that did somehow work for me. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr Midshipman Easy and will probably read more from Marryat.
4/5 stars
