''Richard Bolitho, Midshipman'' is a novel in the Bolitho series of

nautical fiction Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...

set in the late-18th-century

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, written by

Douglas Reeman Douglas Edward Reeman (15 October 1924 – 23 January 2017), who also used the pseudonym Alexander Kent, was a British author who wrote many historical novels about the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars. He w ...

under the pseudonym Alexander Kent. The book was published in 1975. It was the eighth novel in the series, though it is set earlier than the others, at the start of the career of Richard Bolitho.

Plot

The book opens with Richard Bolitho arriving at a

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

inn frequented by midshipmen. There he meets another midshipman, Martyn Dancer. A lieutenant recalls them to their ship, HMS ''Gorgon'', a 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

. Sailing towards West Africa, they encounter an empty merchantman, ''City of Athens''. Dancer and Bolitho are sent aboard the ship and discover that it has been pillaged and the crew killed. The officers soon deduce that the ship was raided by pirates and Captain Conway announces that the Admiralty had dispatched them to investigate the disappearance of ships in the region. In company with the captured ''City of Athens'', ''Gorgon'' approaches a coastal fort surrounded by treacherous reefs and shoals. They sight two ships in the nearby harbour. The fort then opens fire and disables ''City of Athens''. ''Gorgon'' withdraws and returns after dark to salvage the ship. Dancer and Bolitho are sent on the mission, commanded by the 4th lieutenant, Mr. Tregorren, who holds a grudge against Bolitho's prestigious heritage. They succeed at taking the ship, and also capture a slave

dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

in the escape, with the help of ''Gorgon''. The ships, under the guise of being members of the pirate fleet, raid the castle which the pirates had been using as a base.

Characters

* Richard Bolitho – 16-year-old midshipman and a son and grandson of Royal Navy admirals *Martyn Dancer – 16-year-old midshipman with only three-months experience in the navy *Captain Conway – Captain of HMS ''Gorgon''

Publication history

''Richard Bolitho, Midshipman'' was first published in 1975 as an independent novel. Later it was included in the anthology ''Midshipman Bolitho'', which also contained the novel '' Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger''. A collection, ''The Complete Midshipman Bolitho'' included both ''Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger'' and '' Band of Brothers''. 1975 British novels Historical novels The Bolitho novels Novels set in the 18th century Novels set on ships Hutchinson (publisher) books {{1970s-hist-novel-stub