The Fireship

by C. Northcote Parkinson

Book Overview

Having obtained a position on the Glatton, Richard Delancey is soon to see action in the Battle of Camperdown. But the Nore and Spithead mutinies intervene to upset the course of his career.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395204283
• ISBN13: 9780395204283
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 187 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Another good Royal Navy adventure

Most readers are more familiar with the author's books on management, such as "Parkinson's Law," which drew some examples from the British military bureaucracy. His fictional accounts of Richard Delancey, Royal Navy, tend to be overlooked. I am pleased to see that they are now being reprinted. There are a total of six, of which this novel (copyright 1975) is the third chronologically (see my Listmania list for the full series). In this particular novel Delancey is still a lieutenant without influence to help him obtain promotion. Like the fictional Hornblower, he must rely on chance (surviving and being in the right place at the right time - see Frederick Hoffman's, "A Sailor of King George") and his own skills. His assignments take him aboard several ships and involve him in the mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, the battle with the Dutch at Camperdown, and action on the Irish coast. The story (set in 1797-1798) is well researched, well written, and includes maps of the various places of action. The author provides a somewhat detailed look at the life of a British naval lieutenant, including various excursions ashore (Frederick Hoffman's autobiography notes the tendency to go ashore for socializing). The original publisher's printing quality was not the best, so it can be hoped that the reprint is an improvement. Of books in this genre, it is one of the more suitable for children, avoiding the graphic sex and violence used by some more recent authors. Richard Woodman's novel, "A King's Cutter," is set in 1792 - 1797, covers some of the same events from a different perspective, and is also recommended for readers interested in that time period.