CaptainFrederick MarryatCBFRS^[1] (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848)^[2] was aRoyal Navy officer and novelist. He is noted today as an early pioneer ofnautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novelMr Midshipman Easy (1836). He is remembered also for his children's novelThe Children of the New Forest (1847). In addition, he developed a widely used system ofmaritime flag signalling, known asMarryat's Code.

Frederick Marryat
Portrait byJohn Simpson, 1826
Born	(1792-07-10)10 July 1792 Westminster, London, UK
Died	9 August 1848(1848-08-09) (aged 56) Langham, Norfolk, UK
Occupation	Royal Navy officer, writer, novelist
Period	19th century
Genre	Sea stories andchildren's literature

Marryat was born at Great George Street inWestminster, London.^[3] His father wasJoseph Marryat, a "merchant prince" and member of Parliament, as well as slave owner and anti-abolitionist, and his mother was Charlotte,née von Geyer.^[4] As a youth, Marryat tried to run away to sea several times before he was permitted to enter the Royal Navy in 1806 as a midshipman aboardHMS Imperieuse, a frigate commanded byLord Cochrane, who later served as inspiration for Marryat and other authors.

Marryat's time aboard theImperieuse included action off theGironde, the rescue of a fellow midshipman who had fallen overboard, captures of many ships off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, and capture of the castle ofMontgat. TheImperieuse shifted to operations in theScheldt in 1809, where Marryat contracted malaria; he returned to England on the 74-gunHMSVictorious. After recuperating, he returned to the Mediterranean in the 74-gunHMSCentaur and again saved a shipmate by leaping into the sea after him. He sailed as a passenger to Bermuda in the 64-gunHMSAtlas, and from there to Halifax, Nova Scotia on the schoonerHMSChubb, where he joined the 32-gun frigateHMSAeolus on 27 April 1811.

A few months later, Marryat earned distinction again by leading the effort to cut away theAeolus's mainyard to save the ship during a storm. He saved one of the crew from the sea. Shortly after, he moved to the frigateHMSSpartan, participating in the capture of a number of American ships during theWar of 1812. On 26 December 1812, he was promoted to lieutenant, and as such served in the sloop HMSEspiegle and inHMS Newcastle. Marryat led four barges from theNewcastle on a raid againstOrleans, Massachusetts on 19 December 1814, the last combat in New England during the war. Though initially, Marryat cut out an American schooner and three sloops, he managed to escape with just one sloop. The local militia avoided casualties while killing one Royal marine.^[5] Marryat was promoted to commander on 13 June 1815, just as the war ended.

Marryat turned to scientific studies after the war. He invented a lifeboat, which earned him a gold medal from theRoyal Humane Society and the nickname "Lifeboat". He developed a practical, widely used system ofmaritime flag signalling, known as Marryat's Code, based on his experience in theNapoleonic Wars escorting merchant ships in convoys. He also described a new gastropod genusCyclostrema with the type speciesCyclostrema cancellatum.

In 1819, Marryat married Catherine Shairp. They had four sons and seven daughters together, includingFlorence, a prolific novelist;Emilia, who became a writer of moralist adventure novels in her father's vein and wrote a biography of him; andAugusta, who also wrote adventure fiction.

In 1820, Marryat commanded the sloop HMSBeaver and temporarily commandedHMSRosario in order to carry despatches to England announcing the death ofNapoleon onSaint Helena. He also took the opportunity to make a sketch of Napoleon's body on his deathbed; this was later published as a lithograph. His artistic skills were modest, but he made numerous sketches of shipboard life above and below deck.^[6]

In 1823, Marryat was appointed to HMSLarne and took part in anexpedition against Burma in 1824, which resulted in large losses from disease. He was promoted to command the 28-gun HMSTees, which gave him the rank ofpost-captain. By 1826 he was back in England and that year donated two Burmese artifacts to theBritish Museum, in an unsuccessful effort to be selected as a trustee.^[7][8] In 1829, he was commanding the frigateHMSAriadne on a search for shoals around theMadeira andCanary Islands. This was an uninspiring exercise. As his first novelThe Naval Officer had just been published, he decided to resign his commission in November 1830 and take up writing full-time.

From 1832 to 1835, Marryat editedThe Metropolitan Magazine.^[4] Additionally, he kept writing novels; his biggest success came withMr Midshipman Easy in 1836. He lived inBrussels for a year, travelled in Canada and the United States, and moved to London in 1839, where he was in the literary circle ofCharles Dickens and others. He was in North America in 1837 when rebellion broke out inLower Canada, and served with the expeditionary force sent to suppress it.^{[citation needed]}

Marryat was named a Fellow of theRoyal Society in recognition of his lifeboat, signals system and other achievements. In 1843, he moved to a farm at Manor Cottage,Langham in Norfolk. He died there in 1848.^[9] His daughterFlorence Marryat later became known as a writer and actress. His sonFrancis Samuel Marryat completed his father's last novel,The Little Savage.^[10]

Marryat's novels are typical of their time, with concerns of family connections and social status often overshadowing the naval action. He based much of his fiction on his 25 years' experience at sea. Among those who admired his works wereMark Twain,Joseph Conrad, andErnest Hemingway. As the first nautical novels, they served as models for 20th century works byC. S. Forester andPatrick O'Brian. These also were set in the time ofNelson and told of young men rising through the ranks due to their successes as naval officers.

Marryat was also known for short writings on nautical subjects. These short stories, plays, pieces of travel journalism, and essays were published inThe Metropolitan Magazine, and many were later collected in book form asOlla Podrida.

Marryat's 1839Gothic novelThe Phantom Ship contained "The White Wolf of the Hartz Mountains". This featured the first female werewolf to appear in a short story.^[11]

In 1839, Marryat also published hisDiary in America, a travelogue that reflects his criticisms of American culture and society. The book and the author were both subject to acts of violence. The book and Marryat's effigy were each burned in public.

Controversy arose among Marryat's readers. Some criticized him for careless writing, others admired his vivacity about life at sea.^[12] His later novels were generally for the children's market, including his most famous novel today:The Children of the New Forest, published in 1847 and set in the countryside round the village ofSway, Hampshire.

The works of Marryat are considered by the maritime historians of today to be a reliable source on the operation and characteristics of the sailing vessels of his time.^[13]

Marryat's niece Augusta Sophia Marryat married SirHenry Young, who served as Governor ofSouth Australia andTasmania. A suburb,Marryatville, and the town ofPort Augusta were named after her. Augusta's brotherCharles Marryat was the first Anglican Dean of Adelaide.^[15]

• David Hannay,Life of Marryat (1889)
• Florence Marryat,Life and Letters (1872)
• Tom Pocock,Captain Marryat: Seaman, Writer and Adventurer (2000)ISBN 978-1-86176-130-9
• Oliver Warner,Captain Marryat: a Rediscovery (1953)

• Biography at theDictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• O'Byrne, William Richard (1849)."Marryat, Frederick" .A Naval Biographical Dictionary .John Murray – viaWikisource.
• Works by Frederick Marryat atProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Frederick Marryat at theInternet Archive
• Works by Frederick Marryat atLibriVox (public domain audiobooks) 
• Free ebooks of Marryat books optimised for printing at home, plus short Marryat bibliography
• Link to National Portrait Gallery, London
• Buddha statue donated by Captain Marryat to British Museum
• Frederick Marryat at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Frederick Marryat atLibrary of Congress, with 221 library catalogue records
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University:Frederick Marryat papers, 1830-1842