Peter Simple

By: Frederick Marryat

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

In this seminal story of naval life during the Napoleonic wars, Frederick Marryat's young hero embarks upon a life at sea and finds it to be a rough school indeed. Simple's trials and triumphs, with his faithful mentor, Terence O'Brien, at his side, mirror Marryat's personal experiences. Among the exciting events depicted are the hand-to-hand combat of "cutting-out" missions, the devastating hurricane off St. Pierre, and a mutiny aboard the Rattlesnake.

Peter Simple is a towering tale from the great age of sail, filled with keen wit, vivid characters, and thrilling adventure.

(P)1998 Blackstone Audio Inc

Critic reviews

"[Marryat's] adventures are enthralling; the rapidity of his action fascinates....His greatness is undeniable." (Joseph Conrad)

Quite the enjoyable sea story

A bit of fluff with salt, laughs & the ways of the world. An elixir for the Covid virus blues.

Pretty much the real deal

Considering this book was published 3 years before Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne, it is remarkably easy to enjoy. I had heard about it but never actually read it.
The author experienced the British Navy first hand during the Napoleonic wars. It shows. If one hears echoes of Captain Aubrey and other modern day heroes set at the same time , it is hardly surprising. There has been considerable borrowing from Peter Simple.

Yes, the language is dated by our modern standards, the plot is convoluted and there is a heavy emphasis on “improving sentiments” but what do you expect? Read any Walter Scott recently?

I think audiobook form is the perfect way to enjoy this work. It was most likely intended to be read aloud. The Narrator does a splendid job,! He brings out the humor and irony in the gentlest possible way. The story proceeds at a good pace. I plan to listen to it again.

Excellent, but not your typical sea yarn.

Slow to start, and the title is accurate, but the story grows with the age of the principal into an excellent, if not exuberant, yarn. Worth the listen.

Good old fashion adventure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It has everything. Everything that a book should have. Adventure, battles, love, and the best thing of all. It was fun and funny.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Peter Simple?

"I nibbles on her for four years before I sailed her." " You got have a women with good ballast to keep her up right." (I'm paraphrasing here.) "A women with drink is like a ship without a rudder." I been married for 15 years and its all true. I love this book.

What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I felt like the Lord so and so was reading to me. Like little boy hearing a an adventure, and that how it should be read.

Who was the most memorable character of Peter Simple and why?

The Irish characters and the priest. Oh my gosh that was the best part is herring the Irish. It is so real. I'm chocoholic and I could relate to everything about the characters. I love characters that are real and you are able to pick fun at. Its like family. The Irish are not shy about pointing out the elephant in the room. God bless them.

Any additional comments?

I love 18th to early 20th century novels. I think because life sucked so much back then they needed to have good stories. To give you hope. That there is a pay off for being good. Now days its all about guns, sex and violence. This book had that, but it didn't. What the difference. Oh Yeah its called,"GOOD WRITING."

Speaks to us across centuries

I enjoyed this engaging and rewarding tale. Especially as a Patrick O’Brien fan. The 19th century writing is a lot of fun and the humor comes across quite well. It’s true that the first two or three hours are slow but they are humorous. It does pick up after that. Spoiler alert: all wraps up quite neatly, but I don’t mind given the light atmosphere of the story generally. It’s nice to take a break from the dark and cynical.

I do wish the author had provided more detail of the actions Mr. Simple was involved in. There’s some reference to his gallantry, and the engagements are well described (knowledge of Napoleonic era sailing and fighting techniques definitely helps), but you don’t get much of Mr. Simple’s personal exploits, let alone anything of his fear or battle trauma. O’Brien does that much better and with similar concision.

There’s a healthy serving of racism that is hard to swallow, if typical of the times. While it may be realistic, I wish Marryat did not buy into it. Readers may have difficulty compartmentalizing this aspect of the story.

Hidden gem

If you are a fan of O’Brien you won’t want to miss this one. Similar adventures to Jack Aubrey with the same feelings of relationship with the main character’s best friend. So happy to have found! You will not be disappointed.

A rousing sea story!

A bit contrived but a great read. A fast moving story with superb narration. FUN!

The fascinating history of being a British seaman.

Thanks to a well maintained journal the story of life as a seaman is brought forth. So interesting if it wasn’t true I could not have believed it.

Wonderful

OK, I'll break the ice here. This book is wonderfully entertaining. I hadn't heard of it before, but narrator Frederick Davidson never seems to pick a dud, so I gave it a listen. The book is 200 years old, if I remember correctly, but the language is fresh and easily understandable. Very funny, even to the modern reader, and not in that high-brow way in which we're supposed to think a 500-year-old Shakespeare comedy is funny. The depiction of a naval press gang at work is worth the price alone. Anyone who enjoyed the Master and Commander series by Patrick O'Brien will love this one, too.

Oldie but goodie...

There's a plot that chugs along to an inevitable conclusion, but that's OK. The humor, character development and description of life in the Royal Navy raise the book way above the formula. The narrator brings these good points forward. The more I listened, the more I liked it.