Alexander Kent

Having no carpentry skills, I have done my best to stay out of the way during construction of the house.  I have been around to answer questions and make decisions, but as much as possible, I've tried not to be underfoot.  That has left me some time for reading.  In the process I have stumbled upon the Bolitho series of novels by Alexander Kent, which is a pseudonym for British writer Douglas Reeman.

Reeman, born in 1924, volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1940, at age 16, and during World War Two served first in destroyers (in the Atlantic and Arctic) and later in motor torpedo boats (in the Mediterranean).  He was recalled to duty during the Korean War.  His wartime experiences and a long love of the sea and of sailing disposed him to write about seafaring.  A Prayer for the Ship (1958), Reeman's first novel, was semi-autobiographical.  He has also written non-fiction accounts of the British Navy at war.

In 1968, under the Kent pen name (Alexander Kent was a Navy friend of Reeman who was killed early in World War Two), Reeman published To Glory We Steer, the first to feature protagonist Richard Bolitho.  The series has grown to 26 novels, including some which fill in Bolitho's backstory, i.e., going to sea in 1756 at age 12, serving as a Midshipman at age 16, etc.  The series is primarily concerned with the period 1772-1815, which appears to be author Reeman's favorite historical era.  Richard is eventually killed in action, but the series continues with his adopted nephew Adam.

Stand into Danger was the first novel I read, and I am currently digging into Sloop of War.  Both are quite well done, with lots of detail about life (and death) in the era of wooden warships.  Toward the end of the first novel I found myself wondering why Hollywood hasn't picked up this series.  It has all the hallmarks of a first rate swashbuckling costume drama — an engaging hero (Matt Damon), beautiful women (Angelina Jolie), idiotic senior officers, lots of battle scenes  for the special effects department.  Then, as I read Sloop of War, I realized Hollywood's problem: Bolitho is on the wrong side!  Would American audiences flock to their local movie houses to see a drama of the American Revolution in which American ships are being captured or blown to pieces by the British?  Good heavens!  The Tea Party would have another socialist kitten, and Glen Beck would invent a new conspiracy theory to prove that Obama was really born in Bristol, U.K., in 1756 and as a young man favored the British during the War of Independence.

Why am I reading such material?  First, it's fun — a good read.  I also recall my mother's favorable comment many years ago about reading the Horatio Hornblower series (1937-67) by C.S. Forester.  Forester's books were much admired by Ernest Hemingway and Winston Churchill.  Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo starred in the 1951 Hornblower movie.  Whether one sails or not, there's something deeply fascinating about the sea and those who venture out upon it.

Yet what I find most fascinating is that Douglas Reeman (aka Alexander Kent) published his most recent novel last month, at age 86. •••