Customer Reviews

The Dark Frigate

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A book that is listed at reading level for 12 years and up, but I thoroughly enjoyed it at 42. This book was awarded the Newberry Medal in 1923. A tale of 17th English century life at sea, it is a rousing and realistic story. The author spent years researching ships logs, sailing accounts, and the life stories of many sailing men to get the proper flavor for his tale. A reviewer complained about the old fashioned language, but I think any book about a period in time does a disservice to young people by avoiding using the authentic accents, terminology, and phrasing of the time. To not do so is to rob the reader of the experience of joining the adventure and falling into the story completely. I think that classic period books that have been abridged into modern-speak to make them easier to read are simply talking down to readers and underestimating their capacity and curiosity to learn.

The plot is an adventure of a young man that has been on ships since he was a toddler, and the horrible and good people he interacts with after a horrible accident on land with a gun makes him a fugitive. He goes to the place he knows best, the sea. He joins a ship that is later seized by pirates. Forced to cooperate or die, he unwillingly joins them in operating the vessel but refuses to participate in their bloodthirsty pursuits. And there is action galore, storms, sea battles between ships, attacks on forts, sword fights, cannon fire, you name it.

The characters are interesting and multi-faceted, not gray cutouts but realistic... A woman in a tavern is kind and generous in the beginning, but as soon as she has nothing to gain for her kindness she turns on him viciously. A pirate leader is cold and cruel but points he "bears no ill will", like a mafia don stating before he kills that it is nothing personal, just business. And many characters are not what they seem at first. Our young hero manages to survive day by day with his own cunning, and turn the dark situation to his own gain to escape, clear his name, and discover surprising things about his own ancestors. The plot switches and turns many times, always with a new surprise around the bend. A very enjoyable story, I highly recommend.

By the way, if you have a child or adult that wants to be able to look up the sailing terminology in many of the sea tales (what's a mizzen for example), or simply wants to read more books like this one, try one of the books in my recommendations list at Amazon that has definitions and pictures for these terms, "Seafaring and Pirate books for young people", or at least try one of the following books:
"A Sea of Words", or "Traditions of the Navy", Manual of Seamanship for Boys and Seamen of the Royal Navy", and "Sailing Ships at a Glance".

"The Dark Frigate" was the 1923 Newbery Award winner. However, as I read the first few chapters I was thinking to myself, "Boy, the Newbery standards weren't very high back then." My chief problem was that it was written in a very archaic and verbose style. I understand that the author was trying to recreate a feeling of 17th century language for his readers, but any child under the age of 12 is going to get frustrated and I doubt many children over age 12 will enjoy wading through its difficult prose either. Also, this is a strange childrens book in that the main character is not a child, but a 19 yr old man with an eye for comely barmaids.

However, if one can get through the rather awkward writing style and the cursory introductions to key characters, "The Dark Frigate" becomes a real page turner when the pirates enter the story and remains one until the last couple of chapters when the author tries to wrap everything up a little too quickly. The chapters dealing with the pirates, though, make for an extremely entertaining and exciting tale. It's those chapters that made me understand why this book won the Newbery.

Although, written for children, "The Dark Frigate" is a rather grown-up book with murders being described in grisly detail, implied torture, hangings, and female characters who aren't exactly chaste maidens. I guess children in the 20's weren't handled with kid gloves when it came to describing the seedier elements of life.

Review by Adam Phippen, Brookwood School Grade 7. Phil Marsham is the main character in the book The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes, which I thought was very good. Phil Marsham was born in England and was English by right of birth. Phil grew up to be a strong willed young lad, who always had a love for the sea. He had a dream to sail the seas and get away from bland people of the county he lived in. Because he wanted to travel the seas he was very adventurous. He was a brave boy for when faced with scary situations he always approached it head on. For example when he had to get away from the farmers who were chasing him he hid in a place that they would not find him. This story took place in the late 1800's in England and around the cost line Phil sailed on. Since the area was under English law Phil had a hard time being a pirate. At this time there were many soldiers to guard ships against the threat that pirates proved to be. Many were very notorious so there were lots of dangers you had to get past if you were a pirate. There were many ugly ways of executing some one and all were feared by rouges. The idea of this book is that Phil is running from the man from the inn since even though it was an accident he still could not face the man, since he would surely die. So he had one choice. To run! This book starts out that Phil is going to London to charter onto a ship. When he stops at an inn Phil accidentally fires a man's gun off. This proved to be a big problem since he destroyed the inn's interior and nearly killed a man. So Phil started running for his life. This is what started the book. This book was great since it was very dramatic and had great descriptions. The drama comes in as it always comes in with the pirates and with their mutiny and their unsavory descriptions. Where there are rouges there are exciting climactic hangings. The well described dramatic battles put a certain edge to the story. What pirate story can go without a well described sea ship battles? This book is a little hard to follow because it is in third person view with conversations. It also uses lots of odd words and phrases and an accent. Some accents make it hard to understand the people in their conversations. You will get baffled some times when you run into a word like "thee", "thou" , "mizzy mast" or "twill". The phrases will sound a little funny too like "the sea pooped us out". For many drama lovers this is a great book. The battles put an action lover's heart at rest. This book has a part for anyone. It even has a couple romances too. It shows what friends will do for each other. It gets funny when drunks run into serious people. What do you get when you put pirates, soldiers and a whole lot of guns together? You get total mayhem. This is a great book for any one who thinks they can tackle it.

This book was winner of the 1924 Newbery Medal for best contribution to American children's literature (Unfortunately, Hawes died before the Medal was awarded). It focuses on an English lad named Philip Marsham in the 1640s who signs up for duty on a frigate. The ship is taken over by others and is converted into a pirate ship. Philip has to find a way off the ship and back to England. And, the adventures begin! Boy, I wish I had found this book when I was a kid. Iwould have loved it. Even now, as an adult, I enjoyed it.

This is a wonderful little tale that is categorized as children's literature but that need not be overlooked by adult audiences. I am not sure that the categorization is entirely correct, at least by modern standards - given the "mature themes" touched on in this book (lusty inn winches, drunkeness, grim executions, murder, pillaging, and singing in the round - ok, the last one was a joke). Hawes weaved a wonderfully intricate story of piracy on the high seas against a richly developed backdrop of England in the age of Charles and Cromwell, and delivered with a lavish English vernacular of the same era (or at least that's the impression). The latter element made this sometimes difficult for my kids to follow when I read this aloud to them, but no honest child can resist the swashbuckling twists and turns of this Newbury award winning classic. I don't think this is better than Treasure Island, but it ranks close.

Originally published in the early 1900's, this book is an excellent resource for teaching young men about being their own self in a society that is trying to mold them into another copy. High adventure on the high seas. This book is impossible to put down. 75 years ago this was my grandmother's favorite book. Now it is mine.

By: Charles Boardmen Hawes

In seventeenth-century England Philip Marshman was suddenly orphaned when his father died at sea. Growing up around ships Philip runs from London and joins the frigate called "The Rose of Devon." In the middle of the voyage to Newfoundland the ship is seized by evil men, from a floating wreck, saved by the Rose of Devon's crew. Now Philip Marshman is a pirate joining these men on there bloody journey. With only his hanging awaiting him in London. Will he survive? Or suffer the same fate as his father.

Although I do not agree with the suggested reading ages (4-8), this is a wonderful selection of fiction which provides the reader with a proper sense of the 17th century life on the high seas. The book could easily become a household favorite if read aloud to younger children. The tale itself can be apprecited for its depth and quality by literally any age group. I highly recommend reading and sharing the Dark Frigate.

The Dark Frigate is a story about a boy who goes on a journey to start a new life. The setting of this story is in England, and on the rough seas and dirty roads. Philip Marsham's father is lost at sea and he runs away to where he finds Martain and they start out on a journey. Phil finds out that Martain is not the most popular person around. They sleep over at an inn type place and sleep in the barn. They almost get shot in the woods for being on someone else's property, but are let go free. They also sleep over at Old Mother Taylor's house and board a ship with Captain Candle. Because Phil grew up around ships, he was very good at sea. Unfortunatley, their ship is slowly filling up with water. They are forced to board a pirate ship called the Rose of Devon. Phil must become part of their crew! The Rose of Devon saves his life and helps him along his journey. One day the pirates are caught with the help of Phil, and they are taken to court. Phil goes free and finally finds his grandfather has left him a fortune! He fights in a war and is on the brink of death when something amazing happens. The most extraordinary thing that Phil could not believe. You'll have to read the book to find out what it is! I think this book was pretty good. It started our slow but picked up the pace during the middle and end. It was a little hard to understand at first, but once you get it, it's very interesting! I recommend this book to people who like the sea and adventure.

This is a tolerably exciting adventure story for young adults - boys, it would appear. It was first published in 1971.

The story itself is not bad, but the thing that will hang kids up these days is the archaic vocabulary - rare or extinct words involving ships, sailing, and the weather - that Hawes uses liberally throughout this book. It's not just the occasional "Avast thou!" either. I can't judge whether he's using the terms convincingly or believably: I just know it's gonna slow anybody down.

And as for using this with ESL learners, you can totally forget it. It's not just the sea vocabulary, either. It's the overall writing style. Some of the book even drifts into the second person.

Here's a sample:

"Of some she spoke thus in all truth; of others, though she knew it would cost her life, she craftily and stoutly lied. And at last she came to Philip Marsham, whose heart chilled when he met the sharp eyes that had looked so hard into his own in Bideford long before. "Nay, my lord, he is a handsome blade, but I never saw him ere this." Some smiled and sniggered; but the old woman shrugged, and lifted her brows, and stood before the Court, wrinkled and bent by years of wickedness. Say what you will of her sins, her courage and loyalty were worthy of a better cause." (p. 221)