''Peter Simple'' is an 1834

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

written by

Frederick Marryat Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer and novelist. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel '' Mr Midshipman Easy'' (1836). He is ...

about a young British

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. It was originally published in serialized form in the ''

The Metropolitan Magazine ''The Metropolitan: A monthly journal of literature, science, and the fine arts'' was a London monthly journal inaugurated in May 1831, originally edited by Thomas Campbell. It was then published by James Cochrane. ''The Metropolitan Magazine'' ...

'' in 1832-33, during Marryat's editorship. It is the longest of Marryat's novels and during his lifetime was the most celebrated.

Plot summary

The novel describes the naval career of a young gentleman during the period of British mastery of the seas in the early 19th century. The hero of the title is introduced as 'the fool of the family', son of a parson and

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the influential Lord Privilege. This forms a subplot among several others that run alongside the main narrative which mainly concerns the young man's journey from adolescent to adulthood amidst a backdrop of war at sea. One of the key components of the tale is Peter's relationship with the various shipmates he meets, mainly an older officer who takes young Simple under his wing and proves invaluable in his sea education, and also a post captain who suffers from

Münchausen syndrome Factitious disorder imposed on self (FDIS), sometimes referred to as Munchausen syndrome, is a complex mental disorder where individuals play the role of a sick patient to receive some form of psychological validation, such as attention, symp ...

, among others.

Adaptation

In 1957 the novel was adapted into a BBC television series '' The Adventures of Peter Simple'' starring

Timothy Bateson Timothy Dingwall Bateson (3 April 1926 – 15 September 2009) was an English actor. Life and career Born in London, the son of solicitor Dingwall Latham Bateson and the great-nephew of rugby player Harold Dingwall Bateson, he was educated at ...

References

External links

Peter Simple at the Internet ArchiveProject Gutenberg version of the text
* Novels by Frederick Marryat 1834 British novels 1830s children's books Novels set during the Napoleonic Wars Novels first published in serial form British children's books British children's novels Children's books set on ships Children's books set in the 19th century {{war-novel-stub