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Percival Keene
One of Marryat's most entertaining follows adventures, Percival Keene follows namesake character, a low-born seaman, on a mission to discover and claim his true parentage and identity. Young Keene endures baffles both great and small, a stint on board a pirate ship, a stormy romance, and near-execution at the hands of Napoleon himself, all told with Marryat's trademark panache. A page-turning nautical yarn with brilliant historical re-creations of life and war at sea.
Hardcover
First published August 13, 1957
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About the author
Frederick Marryat
918 books89 followersCaptain Frederick Marryat was a British Royal Navy officer and novelist, an early pioneer of the sea story.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic...
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 30, 2015
A fun coming-of-age story featuring the title character. Much of the story is set at sea, as Percy becomes a sailor at a young age. Great characters, with lots of humor, action, and adventure. An entertaining read.
March 12, 2019
Percival Keene is a sailor of low estate who goes on to lead a larger-than-life existence on land and sea. Along the way, he barely escapes being executed on Napoleon's orders. What pluck!
July 23, 2019
Percival Keene is the "natural-born child" of the noble Captain Delmar, who refuses to acknowledge his illegitimate son. Percival joins the Navy as a young midshipman, determined to make his true father proud of him and gain his approval.
This book has adventure, pirates, duels of honor, shipwreck, and battles against the French. I loved the action and the fast-paced writing style. The plot is woven together really well, and every new situation has a fascinating outcome. The characters are all so interesting and brave, and I loved the close, trusting relationships they formed.
Percival is the perfect main character, taking action, carefully calculating his next move, emotional at times, and craving connection to his true family. He is incredibly brave in the face of danger, and very intelligent.
I only wish that the women in this story had any kind of character depth or development. They are barely characters; more like dolls propped up in the background for scenery. Still, the main story is just so good, that I can forgive the author for not giving the ladies more 'screen time'.
I have enjoyed so many of Marryat's books, and I can't wait to read more from the Heart of Oak Sea Classics.
This book has adventure, pirates, duels of honor, shipwreck, and battles against the French. I loved the action and the fast-paced writing style. The plot is woven together really well, and every new situation has a fascinating outcome. The characters are all so interesting and brave, and I loved the close, trusting relationships they formed.
Percival is the perfect main character, taking action, carefully calculating his next move, emotional at times, and craving connection to his true family. He is incredibly brave in the face of danger, and very intelligent.
I only wish that the women in this story had any kind of character depth or development. They are barely characters; more like dolls propped up in the background for scenery. Still, the main story is just so good, that I can forgive the author for not giving the ladies more 'screen time'.
I have enjoyed so many of Marryat's books, and I can't wait to read more from the Heart of Oak Sea Classics.
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January 9, 2017Another great Marryat book. I have to admit I read this book for research into my upcoming Kate Hawkins series but enjoyed it as well. Marryat being a former sea captain himself was able to provide great detail into nautical life, but not too much to overshadow his story. And he has a great sense of humour, which I suppose you would being on a ship for sometimes months at a time. So isn't too heavy a story, quite entertaining and if you are doing nautical research it's invaluable having first hand facts and details.
September 24, 2010
Although I gave it 4 stars and "really liked it", it's not top-shelf literature. Probably just what I was looking for. He glosses over large pieces of the story, but the characters were engaging and I had a good time, which prompted me on to Mr. Midshipman Easy afterwards. This was sort of proto-Patrick O'Brian, which for me was a good thing.
December 30, 2009
We have this from Blackstone Audio--
It took me all through canning season and then present wrapping to finish listening to this awesome book on CD. The narrator was absolutely perfectly fabulous (he sounds a lot like Albert Finney if you know who that is).
We just love Cpt. Marryat--and this was another great one. Not so much for the younger boys as the hero is illigitimate and there is talk of that all through the book.
But again, one of the things we love so much about Marryat is how his characters grow from boys to men--the process of getting older and wiser. They listen to their mentors. They are sometimes foolish, but they learn from their mistakes. They are temperate and honest. This book especially mentions honesty.
Just a super book and a superb author.
It took me all through canning season and then present wrapping to finish listening to this awesome book on CD. The narrator was absolutely perfectly fabulous (he sounds a lot like Albert Finney if you know who that is).
We just love Cpt. Marryat--and this was another great one. Not so much for the younger boys as the hero is illigitimate and there is talk of that all through the book.
But again, one of the things we love so much about Marryat is how his characters grow from boys to men--the process of getting older and wiser. They listen to their mentors. They are sometimes foolish, but they learn from their mistakes. They are temperate and honest. This book especially mentions honesty.
Just a super book and a superb author.
September 24, 2015
Good adventure book. Not for younger readers as the protagonist is the product of an illegitimate birth and there are frequent references to it throughout the book. Also, there is some racism, but anyone old enough to handle the other stuff will be old enough to realize that it's indicative of the time period.
October 26, 2022
At least two people know by now how much I love Marryat. Yes, I would even put him next to Thomas Hardy, although Marryat is more realistic.
Realism isn't seriousness, it's what life is really like.
And life is, more often than not (from our finite viewpoint) a series of random and weird events.
(Of course, all of these events are better experienced on the water, as Ratty told Mole, and Huck Finn proved on his raft, etc.etc.)
I could go on and on about what I like about Marryat's novels, but he doesn't need me to. He speaks for himself.
Realism isn't seriousness, it's what life is really like.
And life is, more often than not (from our finite viewpoint) a series of random and weird events.
(Of course, all of these events are better experienced on the water, as Ratty told Mole, and Huck Finn proved on his raft, etc.etc.)
I could go on and on about what I like about Marryat's novels, but he doesn't need me to. He speaks for himself.
July 4, 2024
The main hero is sailing smoothly unbelievably with luck of like he bribed golden fish for eternal good luck. The plot twists were expectable. With revelation of his true father and getting a girl in the end.
November 12, 2018
One of his best, but not as well known as others. The adventures of a young man to adult of quality in the early 19th century.
July 18, 2021
A good sea story with a lot of interesting plot aspects, particularly the relationship between the hero and his father.
August 30, 2023
This was a lot of fun! I love Marryat’s writing! Lots of laughs, surprises and intense battles!
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and really took my time with it because I didn’t want it to end! I could have had it finished in a few days, but I wanted to bask in the salty air this book made me smell with just about every page!
Give it a shot!
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and really took my time with it because I didn’t want it to end! I could have had it finished in a few days, but I wanted to bask in the salty air this book made me smell with just about every page!
Give it a shot!
March 7, 2012
This was a pleasant surprise. I'd heard that it was one of Marryat's lesser novels and, further, that it contained some racism. The latter was particularly distressing to me as I greatly admire Marryat and was not looking forward to having my high opinion of him diminished. Fortunately, I did not find the chapter in question to be racist at all. The protagonist, Percival Keene, falls in with a pirate ship manned by escaped-slaves who are taking vengeance on the white slavers and merchants they capture. They may be bloodthirsty but they are, after all, pirates. Keene is spared and is actually pretty sympathetic to the pirates, only wishing that they were less indiscriminate in their killing. He expresses as much to the Captain, and successfully pleads for the life of some merchants who are not associated with the slave trade.
Maybe some people consider it racist that Keene tans his skin to avoid upsetting the pirate captain or that, upon rejoining his ship, he is kept off duty until his skin color returns to normal but the latter is probably period accurate and the former needs to be put in the context of the author's clearly stated dis-like of slavery and the friendship that develops between the Keene and the pirate captain.
More disturbing to me was Keene's obsession with proving himself to be noble born, in pursuit of which he blackmails his mother into faking his own death but this is portrayed as a character flaw (albeit one that drives him towards mostly great things, with a few missteps along the way.) In the end the protagonist is a complex and likely realistic character.
Aside from all of that, Marryat is just a great writer. This book was hilarious, the action was well done and the story ultimately compelling.
Maybe some people consider it racist that Keene tans his skin to avoid upsetting the pirate captain or that, upon rejoining his ship, he is kept off duty until his skin color returns to normal but the latter is probably period accurate and the former needs to be put in the context of the author's clearly stated dis-like of slavery and the friendship that develops between the Keene and the pirate captain.
More disturbing to me was Keene's obsession with proving himself to be noble born, in pursuit of which he blackmails his mother into faking his own death but this is portrayed as a character flaw (albeit one that drives him towards mostly great things, with a few missteps along the way.) In the end the protagonist is a complex and likely realistic character.
Aside from all of that, Marryat is just a great writer. This book was hilarious, the action was well done and the story ultimately compelling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 6, 2009Wallopng good fun, every bit of it.
February 10, 2010
2009 - Very funny book!
June 30, 2012
More Dickensian than the rest; the first voiced protagonist is more confident than he deserves and quite a bit smug.
April 3, 2017
I enjoyed this a lot, it is a lot like Horacio Hornblower books, and that is a very good thing.
May 3, 2017
Long story, but worth taking the time to read! Follows the life of Percival Keene thru life from birth to marriage. Gets harder to put down as it goes along!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews