Richard Bolitho, Midshipman

Richard Bolitho, Midshipman is a novel in the Bolitho series, nautical fiction set in the Royal Navy of the late 18th century by Douglas Reeman writing under the pseudonym Alexander Kent. The book was published in 1975. It was the eighth novel published in the series, though it is set earlier than the others, at the start of the career of Richard Bolitho.

Plot

The book opens with Richard Bolitho arriving at an inn frequented by Midshipmen in Portsmouth. There he meets another midshipman Martyn Dancer. They are retrieved by a lieutenant from the Gorgon. The ship sails towards West Africa, where they encounter an empty Merchantman, the City of Athens. Dancer and Bolitho are sent aboard the ship, and discover that the ship has been pillaged and the crew killed. The officers soon deduce that the ship was raided by Pirates and Captain Conway announces that the Admiralty had dispatched them to investigate the disappearance of ships in the region. In company with the captured City of Athens, the Gorgon approaches a coastal fort surrounded by treacherous reefs and shoals. Upon approaching the fort, they see that two ships are in the nearby harbour, however the fort opens fire and destroys the City of Athens.

The Gorgon withdraws and returns during the dark of the night to cut out the ship. Dancer and Bolitho are sent on the mission, commanded by the 4th lieutenant, Mr. Tregorren, who holds a grudge and mistreats Bolitho over Bolitho's prestigious heritage. They succeed at taking the ship, and also capture a Slave Dhow in the escape with the help of the Gorgon. The ships, under the guise at being members of the pilot fleet raid the castle from which the pirates had been using as a base.

Characters

• Richard Bolitho – 16 year old midshipman and a son and grandson of Admirals in the Royal Navy.
• Martyn Dancer – 16 year old midshipman with only three-months experience in the navy
• Captain Conway – Captain of HMS Gorgon

Ships

• HMS Gorgon – British 74 gun Ship of the Line commanded by Captain Conway

Publication history

Richard Bolitho, Midshipman was first published in 1975 as an independent novel. However later publications of the text included it in anthologies Midshipman Bolitho, which also included the novel Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger, and The Complete Midshipman Bolitho, which included both Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger and Band of Brothers.