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The Bolitho novels are a series of nautical war novels written by Douglas Reeman using the pseudonym Alexander Kent. Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the main character in a series of novels written by Douglas Reeman using the pseudonym Alexander Kent. Bolitho was born in in Falmouth, Cornwallin Great Britain, the second son of a prestigious naval family. He joined the navy The Complete Midshipman Bolitho He served in the wars against France and the United States. He was promoted to lieutenant incaptain inand admiral in He died in action against the French in He played a significant role in The Complete Midshipman Bolitho the Americans back to Brooklyn Heights inhelping to secure a decisive British victory in the largest battle of the entire American Revolution. The name Bolitho is a common Cornish surnamebut Reeman The Complete Midshipman Bolitho that he borrowed the name Richard Bolitho from a real person, "a distinguished old chap" he had met in the Channel Islands when he sailed his boat there. Among his fellow officers, Bolitho was known for his tactical ingenuity, his daring, and his disregard of both convention and political expediency. He rose to high rank—despite the opposition of less competent men—because of his ability to win crucial victories against seemingly impossible odds. Among the men of the fleet, Bolitho was known as a demanding but scrupulously fair and humane captain. The men sometimes referred to him, though never to his face, as "Equality Dick. Officers and men who served under Bolitho frequently chose, when given the chance, to do so again. Ships in the squadrons he commanded as a senior officer were frequently commanded by men who had served as his lieutenants when he was a captain. His most lasting relationships were with Thomas Herrick—a fellow officer and his oldest friend—and John Allday, a former Cornish shepherd who became Bolitho's coxswain and de facto bodyguard. Bolitho had a number of romances. One of the first was Viola Raymond, the wife of an English diplomat. She died while Bolitho and a small number of his crew were stranded in a boat in the tropics, but it was her courage and sacrifice that rallied the crew. Bolitho married twice. His first wife, Cheney Seton, died in a carriage accident whilst carrying their unborn child. His relationship with the The Complete Midshipman Bolitho, Belinda, the mother of his child Elizabeth, deteriorated when it became clear that she was nothing like the person he thought he married and was a very selfish individual. Estranged from her and his daughter, he carried on an increasingly public affair with Lady The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Somervell, who was his wife in all but name until his death. Douglas Reeman uses some real locations as settings for his stories. The fictitious Bolitho ancestral home near Falmouth was inspired by a house which Reeman saw and photographed The Complete Midshipman Bolitho the s at Philleigh near the King Harry Ferry in Cornwall. In reality, the house is not near Falmouth at all, so Reeman "relocated" it for his novels. However, the Church of King Charles the Martyrwhich occurs in the books, really does exist in Falmouth. Reeman's own Royal Navy career and lifelong interest in sailing inform his seafaring novels. Starting as a midshipman in destroyers he later transferred to motor torpedo boats, where he was twice mentioned in dispatches. Adam Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the main character in a series of novels written by Douglas Reeman using the pseudonym Alexander Kentsucceeding the previous main character Richard Bolitho. Adam, the only son of Richard's disgraced older brother Hugh, was born in in PenzanceCornwall, shortly after his father joined the revolution in America. Having been sent to Richard at the age of 14 by his dying mother, he joined the Royal Navyrising through the ranks to establish himself as a daring and resourceful frigate captain, as his uncle had once done. Adam's role in the series steadily increases as Richard ages and achieves high rank. After Richard's death, he becomes the principal character in the series. There were also some omnibus editions which collected several books from the series into one volume. The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from The Bolitho Novels. This list is incomplete The Complete Midshipman Bolitho you can help by expanding it. Archived from the original on 10 June Retrieved 14 March Archived from the original on The Complete Midshipman Bolitho March The foundation stone for the Church was laid in August and it was consecrated inso in comparison with many other Cornish churches the Church of The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Charles the Martyr is practically The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Novels portal. Categories : Bolitho novels Nautical fiction Cornish culture Works published under a pseudonym. Hidden categories: CS1 maint: archived copy as title EngvarB from October Use dmy dates from October All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from November Incomplete lists from January The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Namespaces Article Talk. Views Read Edit View history. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Download as PDF Printable version. Third-rate ship of the line. The Complete Midshipman Bolitho - -

Although only noon, the clouds which scudded The Complete Midshipman Bolitho above Portsmouth harbour made it seem closer to evening. For several days a stiff easterly wind had turned the crowded anchorage into angry criss-crossing patterns of whitecaps, and an attendant drizzle gave each buffeted ship and the stout walls of the harbour defences a glistening, metallic sheen. Like inns and hostelries in every busy seaport, it had been added to and altered over the years, but still retained an appearance of a sailor's haunt. In fact, it was used more by young midshipmen than any other seafarers who came and went with the tides, and because of this it held an atmosphere all of its own. Low-beamed, noisy and not particularly clean, it had seen more than one would-be admiral pass through its scarred doors. On this particular day in mid-OctoberRichard Bolitho sat wedged in a corner of one of the long rooms half listening to the babble of voices around him, the clatter of plates and tankards and the hiss of rain against the small windows. The air was heavy with mixed aromas. Food and ale, tobacco and tar, and each time the street doors opened to a chorus of curses and complaints the keener tang of salt from the waiting ships. Bolitho stretched his legs and sighed. After the long and broken coach journey from his home in Falmouth, and a large portion of rabbit pie which was one of the Blue Posts' favourite dishes for the "young gentlemen," he was feeling drowsy. He glanced curiously at the other midshipmen nearby. Some were very young. Children, no more than twelve years old at the most. He smiled, despite his normal reserve. When he had joined his first ship as midshipman he too had been twelve. Only by thinking back to that time could he appreciate how he had altered. How the Navy had changed him. He had been exactly like one of the boys along the table from him. Frightened, awed by the noise and outward hostility of a man-of-war, yet somehow determined not to show it, and always imagining that everyone else was entirely unimpressed by his surroundings. And that The Complete Midshipman Bolitho been four years ago. It was still difficult to accept. Four years in which he had matured and moulded to the ship around him. At first he had believed he would never be able to learn all that was asked and demanded of him. The bewildering complex of rigging and shrouds. The miles of cord-age of every shape and length which made a ship move and obey. Sail drill and gun drill, up aloft on dizzily swaying yards in rain and sleet, or on days when it was so hot he had almost fainted The Complete Midshipman Bolitho dropped to the deck far below. He had learned to understand the unwritten laws of the world between decks, the loyalties and rules which made everyday The Complete Midshipman Bolitho possible in the overcrowded turbulent existence of a King's ship. He had not only survived, he had come through it better than he had thought possible. But not without some bruises and a few tears to mark his journey. Now, on this dismal October day, he was joining his second ship, the seventy-four-gun Gorgon, which lay somewhere at anchor in the Solent. He saw a small midshipman wolfing down a huge portion of boiled pork, and smiled grimly. He would live to regret it. It would be a long and lively pull in a boat through this wind. He The Complete Midshipman Bolitho suddenly of his home in Cornwall, the great grey-stone house below Pendennis Castle where he and his brother and two sisters had grown up together. And where for that matter The Complete Midshipman Bolitho Bolitho family had been living for generations. It had been different from what he had expected, from what he had dreamed about as he had endured storm and heat alike. For one thing, only his mother and sisters had been there to greet him. His father, who commanded a ship similar to the one he was joining, had been away in Indian waters. His older brother, Hugh, was senior midshipman in a frigate in the Mediterranean. The house had seemed quiet and very still after a ship of the line. His new appointment had been delivered on his sixteenth birthday. His mother had tried to hide her dismay. His sisters had laughed and cried as the fancy took them. When he had made his way to board the Falmouth coach he had seen the farm workers nod to him as he had passed. But no show of surprise. For many, many years Bolithos had left the grey house to join one ship or another. Some of them had never returned. And now it was all beginning again for Richard Bolitho. He had vowed that there were mistakes he would never repeat, some lessons he would remember above all else. The Complete Midshipman Bolitho midshipman was neither fish nor fowl. He stood between the lieutenants and the true backbone of any vessel, the warrant officers. At one end of The Complete Midshipman Bolitho ship, aloof and unreachable like some sort of god, was the captain. Above, around and beyond the overcrowded midshipmen's berth were the ship's company. Seamen and The Complete Midshipman Bolitho, volunteers and pressed men alike, packed together between decks, yet at all times separated by status and experience. Harsh discipline was the rule rather than the exception, danger and death from working the ship in all weathers were too commonplace to mention. When landsmen saw a King's ship working clear of the shore, her yards alive with sailors and freshly set sails, when they heard the bang of gun- salutes, the lusty voices of those at the capstan joining in a well-tried shanty, they knew nothing of that other world within the deep hull. Which was probably just as well. Bolitho The Complete Midshipman Bolitho out of his thoughts and looked up. Another midshipman, fair-haired and blue-eyed, was smiling at him. The newcomer added, "Martyn Dancer. I'm joining the Gorgon. The landlord pointed you out to me. Dancer smiled sadly. I was in the flagship until she went into dock. My experience amounts to three months and two days. My father was unwilling to let me go The Complete Midshipman Bolitho sea. Bolitho liked what he saw. Dancer had certainly begun his sea career late. He was about his own age, and had the quiet, cultured voice of a good family. A town family, he decided. Bolitho grinned. I heard it too. It will be better than beating back and forth with the Channel Fleet. Dancer grimaced. I'd The Complete Midshipman Bolitho thought the French would be at us again by now, if only to get their Canadian possessions back. Bolitho turned as two crippled seamen approached the landlord who was watching one of his girls ladling stew into pewter pots. No real war for nine years. It was true enough. And yet there were still other conflicts around the world which never stopped. Uprisings and piracy, colonies fighting their new masters, they had claimed as The Complete Midshipman Bolitho victims as any line of battle. One of the sailors, his right arm amputated almost to the shoulder, retorted angrily, "I'm no bloody beggar! I was in the old Marlborough, seventy-four, with Rear-Admiral Rodney! There was complete silence in the long room, and Bolitho saw that several of the younger midshipmen were staring at the two cripples with something like horror. Bolitho looked at him, sharing his concern. His shame. The one-armed man was staring at them, his face very grim. He said quietly, "Thank you, young gentlemen. I reckon I'm seeing two captains. He moved away as one of the serving girls carried The Complete Midshipman Bolitho steaming pots of food to a side table, adding for the room's benefit, "Some of you take heed of this The Complete Midshipman Bolitho. A lesson for you. The landlord thrust his large bulk towards the midshipmen as the buzz of conversation slowly returned. Bolitho said calmly, "After that, landlord, you will bring two glasses of brandy for us. My friend here is fortunately in good humour. But his father owns most of the The Complete Midshipman Bolitho around this point. The landlord swallowed hard. I'll bring the brandy at once. The best I have, and I trust you will allow me to pay for it. Dancer said incredulously, "But my father is a tea merchant in the City of London! I doubt if he has ever seen Portsmouth Point in his life! The Complete Midshipman Bolitho (The Bolitho Novels #1) (Paperback) | East City Bookshop

Skip to main content. You are here Home. By Alexander Kent. Add to Wish List. Description Three novels in one! Follow his adventures as he undergoes a severe initiation into the dangerous world of the great sailing warships! Naive and untested, Bolitho must learn the ways of the navy quickly if he is to survive. Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger Bolitho returns home to Cornwall for The Complete Midshipman Bolitho, but smuggling, ship wrecking and witchcraft tear apart his once-peaceful community. Band of Brothers Bolitho stands on the brink of manhood and takes his examination to begin his true career as a King's Officer. But soon he The Complete Midshipman Bolitho test his mettle against vicious smugglers! He has taught navigation to yachtsmen and has served as a script adviser for television and films. His books have been translated The Complete Midshipman Bolitho nearly two dozen languages. All of the heroic elements are here. Good, solid stuff that still packs a wallop. Donate Now. Create new account Request new password. Sign Up for Our E-Newsletter. First Name. Last Name. My Must Reads eBooks. Pickup windows will be open the hours above if you'd The Complete Midshipman Bolitho not come inside. Be careful, stay healthy, and wear a mask! There's still a pandemic out there. Thank you for your support. We love books and we love you! Indie Next List. This feature require that you enable JavaScript in your browser. Upcoming Events Virtual Event: O. Hardison Poetry Series: Toi Derricotte.