Frank Mildmay

Pride is the quality Frank singles out when looking back on his childhood, even when others have credited him with better motives. Frederick Marryat's naval novel begins with this candid account of a clever, mischievous boy whose schooling encourages deception. Hunger, suspicion, and rivalry turn the care of an orchard and poultry yard into a contest over stolen food and favour with the schoolmaster's wife.

The same attention to authority carries into Frank's naval career. An examination makes him explain how to fit out a ship, navigate harbours, and respond to difficult conditions at sea. Technical knowledge shares the stage with the captains' vanity: Frank attributes his eventual success to accepting advice that he privately doubts. Another young officer's easier passage through the process exposes the advantage of family connections. Readers interested in shipboard skills and the politics of advancement will find both woven into a narrator's account of his own faults.