"Mr. Midshipman
Easy" by Frederick Marryat 
This book is very funny. I love British dry humor, and this book is packed with it. Read of the adventures of Midshipman Easy and his friends and Ashanti Warrior servant. The book is complete and has a satisfying conclusion. Mr. Easy starts out as a very spoiled child from a very wealthy family. His father is a very strange bird with strong communistic leanings, very early for his time. He imparts his philosophy to his son which causes him many problems, as you can imagine, in the Royal Navy. Mr. Easy is sent off to school at an early age where he learns discipline. After finishing school, he gets it into his head to join the navy after his father lends money to a relative to help outfit his new command. Easy is excepted aboard ship as a midshipman and treated at first with deference. But the other midshipmen do not like him. Fortunately for Mr. Easy, he learned how to fight well in school to survive. Follow Mr. Easy as he learns the ways of the world and the British Navy in particular. He embarks on numerous adventures, fights duels, meets his lady love, and amazes his superiors with his antics. The author served in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and served on ship a few years under Lord Cochrane, The model for O'Brien's Jack Aubry. Marryat wrote several other books and I plan to read as many as I can get my hands on.
Available from:
Heart of Oak Sea Classics
Henry Holt & Company
115 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
Also Available at Fine Book Stores
Reviewed by Ken Smith, 26 April, 1999
