Peter Simple: Heart of Oak Sea Classics

I first read Peter Simple in an abridged German version when I was 11.However, I managed to find a 1895 English copy and greatly enjoy its full text. Nowhere have I found such elaborate and distinct naval terminology ever since. Captain Marryat is, as far as I know the only author who described a club-hauling of a man-of-war in full detail. His naval experiences make this novel a documentary novel also concerning life-style and other details. Such as the vivid description of France and other countries Marryat has been to. I still enjoy reading it very much. POB's books are different but as fine a pleasure to read as Marryat's Peter Simple.

Frederick Marryat was a sea captain who served under the famous Lord Cochrane. This book was an inspiration to such later writers as Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forster. It is a little like Tom Jones in that it episodic, even picaresque. It is very funny in parts, in a way that O'Brian is not--you get the sense that Marryatt is weaving in incidents and characters from his own naval career. It certainly helps to have read O'Brian for a deep understanding of the culture, but with Marryat you feel at times that you are in touch with the real thing.

Another good book in the Heart of Oak series. This novel was quite the opposite of the last one in the series I read, "The Black Ship". I think both novels give good pictures of how life was on the British sailing ships but in "Peter Simple" the crew seems to have a lot of fun and good times as well as taking their work very seriously. They are able to joke around a good bit and enjoy life. This seems much more realistic to me based on my own experiences at sea. "Peter Simple" is written by an actual man of war captain from the Napoleanic era and so probably portrays a much more accurate picture of life on a British man of war than any of the other similar novels. I really liked the novel. Although some of the coincidences and the ending especially are a little too much like a "ladies romance novel" I still think O'Brian fans would enjoy this novel too. The sea battles and ship maneuvers are every bit as good as O'Brian.

I loved this book when I was 14. Since I could not read English, I did read it in Spanish. Now I am 38 and believe I can read English, even if probably Mr. Shakespeare would not "be in love" with the way I pretend to express in his language.Peter Simple was a magnificent book, specially for someone like me, whose name in Spanish is Pedro (Peter), and after years searching for it, even in London, I found it, and I have ordered it to reread as if I were 14 years old.Thank you,Simply, Pedro

My rewiew is the above. 45 Years ago I read a danish translation, with the original drawings. I have been trying to find Captain Frederick Marryatt's works in English since.