Patrick O'Brien has created one of the worlds greatest literary pairings since Holmes and Watson in his sea fighting duo, Aubrey and Maturin. Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Steven Maturin take to the seas for a twenty volume adventure which spans their careers and the globe. This is true literature worthy of the attention of all readers, not just those of this exciting genre.
C. S. Forrester is the creator of Horatio Hornblower, perhaps the worlds most famous fictional sea captain. Follow his career from a midshipman who got seasick his first day onboard ship at anchor in Spithead all the way to Admiral. The Hornblower character can be seen in an A&E series of feature length television movies. Other writers have chosen Hornblower an a subject to write about. One such book is The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower.
James L. Nelson. This series is set on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean with a protagonist who is an American. These novels begin with our hero sailing as a master of a merchant ship out of Newport, Rhode Island carrying cargos that make him a de facto smuggler and thus an enemy of the Royal Navy.
Capt. Frederick C. Marryat, RN is perhaps the most significant figure in the genre, having been credited with creating it. Marryat sailed the adventures he later wrote about. His naval career took him across the globe, through many sea battles, and even in service with Cochrane who many authors based their principle here on. He retired from the Royal Navy to write full time after he saw his chances for advancement diminish after producing a piece critical of the Navy. Marryat, who was a contemporary to Charles Dickens, also edited a magazine and serialized his stories and deserves much credit for helping to establish that practice. He was part of Dickens' circle then, but today lives in his shadow.
Alexander Kent has brought us Richard Bolitho, the hero of this series.
