Customer Reviews

Mr. Midshipman Easy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book's an odd kettle of fish. It focuses on Jack Easy, starting at his birth, following him through school and into the Navy. He joins to press his socialist philosophy of the "equality of man". The book was first published in 1836, when Karl Marx was 18. Zeitgeist, perhaps?

In tone, the book's half nautical fiction along the lines of O'Brian, Forester, Pope, etc., and half 17th century romantic farce that sees a rival found out in women's clothing, diabolical happenings at a costume ball, the come-uppance of a conniving father-confessor, a hilarious three-way duel, and more. The situations will be all the funnier if you've read more "serious" nautical fiction before this.

Oddly, even though the author was himself a retired British naval post-captain (who served under Cochrane when he was himself a midshipman!), there is relatively little focus on the nautical details, and a whole lot of focus on the characters. Sure, there's a gale (and quite a good one), and some beam to beam broadside action, but mostly it's about the characters. In every situation, there's little tension as we know our hero will make good a Hornblower-like escape by some indirect means.

The author jumps in as the omniscient narrator from time to time. For instance, there's one chapter that's an odd repetition of an argument made in a previous book against overly harsh punishment in the service.

The wisdom's along the lines of "spare the rod, spoil the child" and the character "development" sees Mr. Easy move from channeling Marx to channeling Ayn Rand. As the earlier positions are argued as hard as the latter, it's actually hard to see the author's position here, which is quite interesting.

Overall, though, the book just doesn't hang together as a continuous, tense story about the sea, which is one of the main reasons to read nautical fiction. On the other hand, if you've run out of the better nautical fiction, this one's well worth a read. A more interesting genre piece from this era is Wilkie Collins's mystery "The Moonstone".

Great book in that it doesn't take itself too seriously. Great tongue-in-cheek view of life aboard a British man-of-war. Of course its not too realistic, which O'Brian attempts and Forrester accomplishes, still, a real hilarious adventure tale. Easy leads an unbelievably charmed life, to the point of delightful reading but not incredulity. Characters are real yet outstandingly rich and beautiful. Find yourself putting your head back now and then and laughing in a most horse-like fashion... In regard to sea stories of this nature, I put C.S. Forrester 1st (He is the master, and will always be 1st just as Tolkien will always be 1st for fantasy readers), Marryat 2nd, O'Brian 3rd (too much pontificating...) and Alexander Kent and others a distant, distant, distant 4th.

While digging through the treasure trove of nautical fiction available, I found this gem.

Written in the 1830s, this story is a sharp social commentary combined with the adventure of a midshipman in the Royal Navy. I found this a delightful observation of society, which from today is even more humorous than it might have been 200 years ago.

The language isn't far off from today's (the sailing vocabulary hasn't -obviously- changed). A good read for just about any age. Footnotes (in the Heart of Oak edition) to help those unfamiliar with some 19th C. idioms or semi-obscure sailing terminology.

If you haven't read Marryat's work yet, this is a good one to get your feet wet.

If you like the more modern Patrick O'Brian novels you will most likely like enjoy "Mr Midshipman Easy" even more. The author, Frederick Marryat, was a real Post Captain on a British man-of-war and an excellent writer as well. The days of ship warfare in the Napoleanic era come alive as does the day-to-day life onboard a man-of-war.

I very much very much recommend this book.

Extremely witty book! The story follows "Equality Jack" Easy, a Midshipman with a rather unusual philosophy. Yet, while you're laughing, you get a good taste of what life was really like on a British man o'war. Marryatt lived these times, so writes of them better than any of the others. But you should also read: Horatio Hornblower, Dewey Lambdin, and Patrick O'Brian.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Despite the fact that the book was written over one hundred years ago, Marryat's creation is entertaining to this day. One thing that made it such a good book was Marryat's experiences as a participant in the actual war. Writers of other Maritime books do not have as clear an understanding of what life was like on the ocean because they were never there. While Marryat can describe life on the ocean well and tell an entertaining story, he cannot be counted among the great authors of the english language. His book is entertaining and exciting, but not outstanding

While awaiting O'Brian's next book, I discovered Marryat. Easy is the third of his books I have read, and possibly the most enjoyable for I was a midshipman myself at one time. Although the mid of 1808 and the mid of 1960 have little in common in terms of the Navies involved, they are of one mind when it comes to wine, women, adventure, and a questioning disdain for the rules. Although the adventures may seem a bit farfetched at times, who can say that in 1808 they were not every bit as likely to happen exactly as Marryat relates.

British Naval life circa 1808 written by one who was there. Marryat was a midshipman at the time. O'Brien, Forrester, etc. base their stories on historical occurances, as does Marryat, and many of their plots can be found here. The difference, of course, is that Marryat knew the men, and in some cases it seems it was Marryat himself, whose deeds are echoed in our favorate works of fiction. Marryat writes with great humor, and his prose style, while somewhat archaic, will be familiar to O'Brien's readers. He has some axes to grind that might offend the modern reader (anti-catholic bigotry, and a determined attack on the principles of human rights that drove the French Revolution against which he fought) but taken with a grain of salt he can generate a humorous view of many institutions that are above question these days. This volume is beautifully printed and bound, and well worth the hard cover price.

Almost 5 stars.

Mr. Easy's father is a philosopher, with a very naive view of human nature. This comic figure is the major influence in Jack Easy's life until he is convinced Jack needs to be sent off to school. There begins Jack Easy's REAL schooling in life, followed by his entry into the British Navy. After all, isn't everyone equal on the sea, which belongs to no man?!

Marryat's major strength in this book is that he can make almost any situation comical. You may roll your eyes at some of his puns,(He must really have enjoyed them!)but you can't help but laugh!

Although lots of sea interested people have reviewed this book, I would heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys a pleasant read and a good laugh. It's clean enough for children, interesting enough for dads, has adventure enough for boys, and stinging rebuke enough for moms. (My daughters also enjoyed it, especially the "duel".)

Only 4 stars because it's not as great literature as R.L. Stevenson's Kidnapped.

Bravo!
This book is an enjoyment to read. From cover to cover, it kept me laughing.
However, I would say that this book is more about a spoiled child growing up becoming a responsible young man, experiencing along the way some seriously funny exploits than being a pure nautical adventure novel.
It is easy to see why this title is a classic. I highly recommend it's reading if you enjoy a good laugh.