Mr Fitton's Prize (The Lieutenant Michael Fitton Adventures) by Lt. Commander Showell Styles F.R.G.S. (29-May-2008) Paperback

Lieutenant Michael Fitton Adventure #5

by Showell Styles

First published in 1993 Mr Fitton's Prize follows the adventures of sailor Michael Fitton.When Michael Fitton joins the HMS Fortitude as master's mate all he wants is a chance to prove himself a loyal member of the new crew and earn a much-longed for promotion. But Fitton's loyalty to the ship is severely tested when his captain refuses to help struggling French Royalists, including the beautiful and captivating Denise de Charignay, defend their stronghold against the revolutionaries.A chance to command his own expedition leads Fitton into a daring night seizure of a French brig and the opportunity to sail to the Royalists aid. Relying purely on nerve and skill Fitton must battle revolutionaries in order to save Denise and her uncle the Comte, friend of the Comte d'Artois, brother to the executed French King Louis XVI, now a refugee in England and heir presumptive to the French throne.Facing capture and execution as he races across the sea back to the shores of England, where he may face a court-martial for his actions, Fitton must find a way to outwit a larger, faster and better equipped vessel captained by his old nemesis, the French privateer Captain Dorimond.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Aka Glyn Carr

Frank Showell Styles was a Welsh writer and mountaineer.

Showell Styles was born in Four Oaks, Birmingham and was educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield. Known to his friends as 'Pip', Showell Styles' childhood was spent in the hills of North Wales where he became an avid mountaineer and explorer. During the Second World War, Styles joined the Royal Navy and was posted in the Mediterranean, but even there he walked and climbed as much as he could.

An aspiring writer, Styles already had articles published in Punch, before setting out to make his living as an author. His first novel, Traitor’s Mountain, was a murder mystery set on and around Tryfan in Wales. He became a prolific writer with over 160 books published for children as well as adults. In addition to historic naval adventure fiction such as the Midshipman Quinn and Lieutenant Michael Fitton series set during the Napoleonic Wars, and non-fiction works on mountains and such as The Mountaineer’s Weekend Book, he wrote detective fiction under the pseudonym of Glyn Carr, and humorous pieces as C.L. Inker.

For walkers visiting Snowdonia for the first time, Styles' The Mountains of North Wales is monumentally inspirational, written by a sure hand and with a firm conviction and love of these mountains.

Reviews

[Edoardo Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember it exactly. The first time the natural physical insouciance of youth was cracked. I was on the hovercraft crossing the Channel - back then, there was no tunnel, and the quickest way across was by the giant, car-eating hovercraft that roared over the strait - and, naturally, on boarding I had rushed to the front, where the seats looked out past the captain's bridge to the approaching shore - and the choppy waves of the Channel. Setting off, I discovered something unexpected, although hardly unforseeable, about hovercrafts: since they hover, they follow the line of the waves, rather than ploughing through them. Oh, how I laughed with glee as the front of the hovercraft rose up towards the crest, opening up a prospect of sky and foam, then dropped, precipitously, into the trough beyond, changing on the instant from clear blue sky to roiling green water. The other passengers sought calmer berths further back, but we youngsters stayed at the front, revelling in this natural roller coaster. Or some of us did. After about twenty minutes, my exhilaration began to feel a trifle... forced. Something seemed to be forcing its way upon me. Unfortunately, it was my lunch.

I just about made it to the toilet in time.

I had not known before that I could get sea sick. Turns out, I'm about as bad a sailor as ever turned green over the big greeny blue. Further confirmation was supplied when learning to dive in Australia (did you know, they even have barbies on boats - not that I was eating anything).

So it must be the nautical equivalent of rubbernecking that produces my fascination with naval literature, in particular stories set in the heyday of the Senior Service during the Napoleonic Wars. Patrick O'Brian, CS Forester - you merely have to point me at a ship of the line and I've cast off hawsers and settled down to read.

But I'd never heard of Showell Styles and now I must give thanks to Faber Finds. It's stated purpose is to restore to print great writing across every genre of fiction and non-fiction - and with Mr Fitton's Prize it has succeeded. This is a masterclass in writing, its apparent effortlessness concealing a real mastery of the craft. Looking up the author, I find that he wrote over 150 books in a 50-year career, both fiction and non-fiction. In fact, I find that he was what I want to be. Plus, he has pretty well the coolest name ever. So, Mr Styles, may you sail home, and be my guide.