Tom Cringle's Log

by Michael Scott and William [introduction Scott, Michael; McFee

Book Overview

At thirteen, Tom Cringle enters the Napoleonic-era Royal Navy as a midshipman. Assigned at first to service in home water, Tom is soon transferred to the exotic West Indies, where war, piracy, smuggling, and slave running are the order of the day. In what Samuel Taylor Coleridge (author of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner") called "a most excellent sea story," the hero of this tale advances from midshipman to lieutenant to a command of his own:...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 093552651X
• ISBN13: 9780935526516
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: McBooks Press
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A fascinating look into the life of an 1800s English Midshipman

I love the old English language, and the story holds my attention. Having lived in Cartagena (spelled Chartghena in the book which is a more accurate phonetic spelling since the "g" is pronounced "h") in the 1950s, it was interesting to get a peek into the Englishman's view of the city. A good addition to my Kindle titles.

Three stars for entertainment, five for history

This book is based on a collection of very popular stories that were published in a magazine in England beginning in 1829. The author died in 1835, and the stories were consolidated into this volume in 1869. The stories describe the fictional career of Tom Cringle as a young British navy officer who is sent to the West Indies, specifically Jamaica, in the early 19th century. The author himself went out from Scotland to Jamaica in 1806, working first on several slave plantations and later as a merchant in Kingston, before retiring to Scotland in 1822. Many young "gentlemen" went out to the West Indies from England and Scotland in search of a fortune during this period - the height of the sugar plantation era - therefore this account is of considerable historical interest. The author had an intimate, first-hand knowledge of life there and then to draw from - unlike C.S. Forester or Patrick O'Brian, who have written similar accounts - therefore we should look to him rather than them to learn what that life was really like. I found the book to be delightful and fascinating and was sorry to reach the end as I had learned so much from it. It is one of the best depictions available of the period. The author goes into great descriptive and probably accurate detail about anything and everything, including the dress of the times; manners and customs; entertainment; diet; dining; and relationships among whites, Creoles, mulattos, and Africans. We also learn about architecture, transportation, fruits and vegetables, disease, piracy, and hurricanes. Most of the book takes place on land, particularly in Jamaica, but there are significant sections on Cuba, Haiti, Cartagena, and Panama as well. I was particularly interested in his depiction of the slave fest of Jonkonnu and the arduous and dangerous expedition across the isthmus of Panama. I think this "novel" also allows us to see this period from the eyes of people then and there. They seemed to have a devil may care, live for the day approach to life in a time when life was generally short and in a place where death was always close at hand. In contrast, we today are more or less guaranteed a long and healthy life, with few obstacles, and take a much more cautious approach to living. This is a great book if you are truly interested in colonial life in the British (and to some extent Spanish) West Indies in the early 19th century. It is also far more entertaining than In Miserable Slavery, the famous and invaluable diary of a British overseer. On the other hand, you will probably not be entertained if you are just looking for an escapist naval adventure.

A book for true nautical fiction fans

The real travesty is that reviews like the 1-star above should color people's first impressions of this landmark book. Unlike O'Brian et al., Scott lived the life and times he wrote about, and his powers of description were superb. Scott's style is a bit dated, but his book does repay the modern reader's attention.