The Fireship [Hardcover]

C. Northcote Parkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1975

Having obtained a position on the Glatton, Richard Delancey is soon to see action in the Battle of Camperdown. But the Nore and Spithead mutinies intervene to upset the course of his career.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Authentic naval adventure…full of action." -- Sunday Times

"The sharp tang of powder, tar, and sea along with the boom of cannon and shouts of men in battle." -- Dallas Morning News

"[Parkinson’s] knowledge of the naval world . . . was encyclopaedic; his understanding of ships, seamen, of politics, strategy and trade almost unrivalled." -- David Powell, 20th Century Romance and Historical Writers

Authentic naval adventure full of action. -- Sunday Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Born in the north of England shortly before World War I, Cyril Northcote Parkinson pursued a distinguished academic career on both sides of the Atlantic. Before he ever turned his hand to fiction, he became famous for unveiling "Parkinson's Law," the widely known conjecture that work expands to fill the time allowed for its completion. Parkinson wrote many books concentrated on British politics and economics, but his Richard Delancey series has drawn favorable comparisons to Forester and the Hornblower stories. In fact, Parkinson's first fictional effort, a "biography" of Hornblower, has enjoyed considerable acclaim. C. Northcote Parkinson died in Canterbury, England in 1993. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 187 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395204283
• ISBN-13: 978-0395204283
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,919,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fiery path to promotion in the Royal Navy circa 1798, May 11, 2000

By 

Booledozer (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fireship (Hardcover)

The fireship is a novel of the naval war with revolutionary France. I'd say it is a "must read" for serious fans of this genre. Casual readers may find it a bit too didactic.

Richard Delancey, unlike the heroes of some other heroes in this genre, like Alexander Kent's Bolitho, and Dudley Pope's Ramage, has difficulty getting promoted, he even had terrible difficulty finding a ship in the previous novel in this series. Delancey has zero "interest", zero patronage, a very important aid to promotion in the RN of this time.

But 1798 finds him second lieutenant aboard the Glatton, a 50 gun ship fitted with an experimental armament of all large caliber carronades. It is an interesting time in the RN. The Army has recently given enlisted soldiers a substantial pay raise, but there has been no corresponding raise for enlisted sailors for decades. The sailors are discontented. There is a mutiny aboard the ships of Admiral Duncan's fleet. It couldn't come at a more awkward time. Admiral Duncan's fleet is supposed to be blockading the Dutch.

Quick thinking on the part of the first lieutenant of Delancey's ship prevents the mutiny from taking hold, and the Glatton is able to join Admiral Duncan's ship, and bluff until the rest of the fleet joins him. But he had to kill a mutineer to do so.

Since the death occurred in port, the first lieutenant has to stay ashore, and Delancey has to assume his duties. He is acting first lieutenant when the Dutch fleet leaves port and is engaged by Admiral Duncan's fleet.

The Battle of Camperdown is a decisive victory. Every ship's first lieutenant is to be promoted. But Delancey's colleague has been acquitted, and the Captain wants him to receive the promotion, not Delancey. The Captain wants to make sure the trial does not put a black mark against this loyal officer's career. And the 1st lt after all had the primary responsibility for training the crew so that they performance was examplary.

Delancey is bitter, but he does receive command of a fireship. He makes the most of this, by researching the history of fireships. Fire was a very serious danger aboard sailing ships. Their upper works could be bone dry, and very highly flammable materials, like pitch, were used in their construction. Fireships werre ships intended to be sailed against enemy fleets at anchor, loaded with incendiaries. Big hooks are hung from her upper works, to entagle with the enemies ship's rigging. When they get close to the enemy fleet, the incendiaries are set alight.

Delancey finds that if he can find an opportunity to make effective use of his vessel, and it is destroyed while burning an enemy vessel he can count on promotion.

It seems a long shot. But a French expedition to stir up sedition in rural Ireland provides him with his opportunity...

The only other novel I know of that deals with the mutinies is Showell Styles "Camperdown"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good Royal Navy adventure, July 25, 2000

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fireship (Hardcover)

Most readers are more familiar with the author's books on management, such as "Parkinson's Law," which drew some examples from the British military bureaucracy. His fictional accounts of Richard Delancey, Royal Navy, tend to be overlooked. I am pleased to see that they are now being reprinted. There are a total of six, of which this novel (copyright 1975) is the third chronologically (see my Listmania list for the full series).

In this particular novel Delancey is still a lieutenant without influence to help him obtain promotion. Like the fictional Hornblower, he must rely on chance (surviving and being in the right place at the right time - see Frederick Hoffman's, "A Sailor of King George") and his own skills. His assignments take him aboard several ships and involve him in the mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, the battle with the Dutch at Camperdown, and action on the Irish coast. The story (set in 1797-1798) is well researched, well written, and includes maps of the various places of action. The author provides a somewhat detailed look at the life of a British naval lieutenant, including various excursions ashore (Frederick Hoffman's autobiography notes the tendency to go ashore for socializing).

The original publisher's printing quality was not the best, so it can be hoped that the reprint is an improvement. Of books in this genre, it is one of the more suitable for children, avoiding the graphic sex and violence used by some more recent authors. Richard Woodman's novel, "A King's Cutter," is set in 1792 - 1797, covers some of the same events from a different perspective, and is also recommended for readers interested in that time period.