Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848),
English naval
captain and author, famous for his humorous, yet realistic, novels of
life at
sea. Entering the British Navy at the age of 14, Marryat served for nearly 25 years before his health forced him to
retire, at which
point he turned to writing as a career. His novels of various adventures at
sea, taken from his own experiences, became extremely popular. Some of his works
include Peter Simple (1834),
Mr.
Midshipman Easy (1836) and Masterman
Ready (1841).