At fourteen the unworldly, idealistic Jack Easy leaves the luxury of his father’s estate in England and sails into a world of action and adventure aboard the sloop of war HMS Harpy. At first Jack finds it hard to stomach the discipline of naval life and, with his mischievous sense of humor, is always getting himself into scrapes. But soon he is bravely taming a band of mutinous seamen, outwitting a wily and murderous Sicilian nobleman, and breathing the smell of gunpowder and raw steel as the Harpy chases Spanish ships on the Mediterranean.

This neglected 1836 classic is both a rousing adventure story and a profound coming-of-age tale written with great skill and humor.

Captain Frederick Marryat of the Royal Navy knew well both the thunder of the broadside and the laughter of the gun room. In Percival Keene, he takes us on a thrilling and authentic ride through the naval world of the Napoleonic wars.

This is the gripping tale of the mischievous young midshipman Percival Keene, whose adventures begin when he learns that the demanding Captain Delmar, a member of the wealthy and titled De Versely family, is actually his natural father. Stung by his father’s refusal to acknowledge him, Keene sets about to win his love and the family fortune. To do so, he must survive a shipwreck and capture by murderous pirates, fight duels of honor with his fellow officers, and battle against the French.

In this seminal story of naval life during the Napoleonic wars, Frederick Marryat’s young hero embarks upon a life at sea and finds it to be a rough school indeed. Simple’s trials and triumphs, alongside his faithful mentor, Terence O’Brien, mirror Marryat’s personal experience, from the hand-to-hand combat of cutting-out missions to the devastating hurricane off St. Pierre and the mutiny aboard the Rattlesnake.

Peter Simple is a towering tale from the great age of sail, filled with keen wit, vivid characters, and gripping adventure.