There is not so much nautical detail in this book as in many of Marryats others. Phew! As a landlubber, get buried with it. He is subtle in his philosophical diatribe, generally speaking through his charactersa refreshing change. Our young hero captains a sloop only to be impressed anyway by HRMs gallant navy. As a sailor he quickly proves himself, is given command of a captured French vessel, is himself captured, imprisoned, but escapes with the aid of his crewmates and reenters the merchant service. One more imprisonment (sort of) by the French. Brush up on your French for these chapters, there is no translation provided. Of course, he is released only to end up stranded, rescued, and back in the merchant service. Did I speak too soon of philosophical meandering? Yes! The author suddenly takes charge to the tune of several interspersed chapters. At least I now know the merits of Madeira versus sherry. Newton finally distinguishes himself, wins the girl, and solves all of the family mysteries. (Read the book to find out what they are.) Marryat is definitely the forebear of Patrick OBrien.

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