Douglas Reeman (1924–2017)
Author of To Glory We Steer
About the Author
Douglas Reeman was born in 1924 in Thames Ditton, Surrey, England. At the the beginning of World War II, he joined the Royal Navy age of 16. His naval experiences have been major influences on his works. Reeman is regarded as the master of sea stories. In 1958, his first novel, A Prayer for the show more Ship was published. Under the pseudonym, Alexander Kent, he wrote over 20 novels including the best-selling Richard Bolitho novels. Under his real name, he has written over 30 novels including the Royal Marines Saga. His works as Kent and Reeman are published in 14 languages around the world. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Alexander Kent is a pseudonym of Douglas Reeman.
Image credit: via author's website
Series
Works by Douglas Reeman
Midshipman Bolitho: "Richard Bolitho Midshipman" and "Midshipman Bolitho and the "Avenger"" (1980) 10 copies
Captain Richard Bolitho, R.N., 1778-84: "Sloop of War", "To Glory We Steer", "Command a King's Ship" (1978) 5 copies, 1 review
Fregattenkapitän Bolitho. Bruderkampf / Der Piratenfürst. Zwei Romane in einem Band. ( maritim). (2001) 4 copies
El guadamarina Bilitho. 2 copies
Great Tales of the Sea 1 copy
Die Entscheidung Kapitaen Bolitho in der Falle; Roman. Gesamttitel: Ullstein; Nr. 22725 : Maritim (1992) 1 copy
Ataca si scufunda! 1 copy
De ondergang van de Thistle 1 copy
Associated Works
The Mammoth Book of Men O'War: Stories from the Glory Days of Sail (1999) — Introduction — 92 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The North Runner • A Ship Must Die • Error of Judgement • Kalahari (1979) 7 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Collision • Wild Goose, Brother Goose • The Property of a Gentleman • I Can Jump… (1969) 5 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Surface with Daring • I Take Thee, Serenity • The Silence of the North • The… (1977) 4 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Winged Escort • Our John Willie • The Bermuda Triangle • The Cheetahs • The… (1970) 4 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Torpedo Run • Banners of Silk • My Left Foot • Trojan Treasure (1981) 3 copies
Het Beste Boek 68: De wilde gans / Kamer 807 / De Camerons / Zijner majesteits U-boot — Author — 3 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Big Bridge • Badge of Glory • Blue Above the Chimneys • No Escape (1982) 3 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Camerons; Because I Loved Him; Rendezvous-South Atlantic; Meeting With a Great… — Author — 1 copy
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Volunteers • Outrage • The Incredible Journey • Red Crystal (1986) — Author — 1 copy
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: A Ship Must Die • Snowbound Six • Amanda/Miranda • Bullet Train — Author — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Reeman, Douglas Edward
- Other names
- Kent, Alexander (pseudonym)
- Birthdate
- 1924-10-15
- Date of death
- 2017-01-23
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Thames Ditton, Surrey, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Thames Ditton, Surrey, England, UK
Portloe, Cornwall, England, UK - Occupations
- naval Officer
police officer
child welfare officer
novelist - Relationships
- Reeman, Kimberley Jordan (spouse and co-author)
- Organizations
- Royal Navy
London Metropolitan Police - Short biography
- Douglas Edward Reeman (born 15 October 1924, Thames Ditton) is a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars.
Reeman joined the Royal Navy in 1940, at the age of 16, and served during World War II and the Korean War. He eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant. In addition to being an author, Reeman has also taught the art of navigation for yachting and served as a technical advisor for films. Douglas married author Kimberley Jordan Reeman in 1985.
Reeman's debut novel, A Prayer for the Ship was published in 1958. His pseudonym Alexander Kent was the name of a friend and naval officer who died during the second world war.[1] Reeman is most famous for his series of Napoleonic Naval Stories, whose central character is Richard Bolitho, and, later, his nephew, Adam. He also wrote a series of novels about several generations of the Blackwood family who served in the Royal Marines from the 1850s to the 1970s, and a non-fiction account of his World War II experiences, D-Day: A Personal Reminiscence (1984). - Disambiguation notice
- Alexander Kent is a pseudonym of Douglas Reeman.
Members
Reviews
Sloop of War by Alexander Kent
Bolitho arrives in Antigua and is sent on various missions during the American wars of independence between 1778 and 1781.
Relevant stuff from my review of Midshipman Bolitho, which collects the first two novellas in the series:
This series is more in the style of C. S. Forester's Hornblower than in the style of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin. Kent is not a fancy writer, but he writes in a straightforward and competent manner and he knows his 18th century British Navy stuff. The reader soon is immersed in the atmosphere of the ship, accompanying 16-year-old Richard Bolitho as he fulfills his midshipman duties. The stories are part description of life aboard and part adventure/war plot.
I have seen other reviewers of this book complaining that Bolitho lacks personality, and I can see where they are coming from. In the crowded conditions of the ship, with no privacy, strict military discipline and almost no spare time, it is difficult for people to express their personality. C. S. Forester dealt with that by giving Hornblower some exaggerated personality tics, which made him seem more distinctive. Kent does not do that, so Bolitho's personality is less remarkable. But that's OK with me. He is an eager midshipman, competent (unlike Hornblower, we meet Bolitho when he already is an experienced midshipman) but still not as confident as he'll probably be when he is more senior. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll get to know him better, particularly as he gains more authority to make decisions.
This is not high literature. You should understand my rating under this light: Kent's only ambition is to tell entertaining navy tales, and what he sets out to do he does well. I had a good time and want to keep reading this series, hence my good rating.
Here, Bolitho serves in the HMS Gorgon, a powerful ship of the line that has been sent to the African coast to deal with pirates. Bolitho has to put up with a lieutenant who dislikes him because of his family and who is not shy about taking the credit for his ideas and actions.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about military sailing ships, in the style of C. S. Forester.… (more)
This series is more in the style of C. S. Forester's Hornblower than in the style of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin. Kent is not a fancy writer, but he writes in a straightforward and competent manner and he knows his 18th century British Navy stuff. The reader soon is immersed in the atmosphere of the ship, accompanying 16-year-old Richard Bolitho as he fulfills his midshipman duties. The stories are part description of life aboard and part adventure/war plot.
I have seen other reviewers of this book complaining that Bolitho lacks personality, and I can see where they are coming from. In the crowded conditions of the ship, with no privacy, strict military discipline and almost no spare time, it is difficult for people to express their personality. C. S. Forester dealt with that by giving Hornblower some exaggerated personality tics, which made him seem more distinctive. Kent does not do that, so Bolitho's personality is less remarkable. But that's OK with me. He is an eager midshipman, competent (unlike Hornblower, we meet Bolitho when he already is an experienced midshipman) but still not as confident as he'll probably be when he is more senior. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll get to know him better, particularly as he gains more authority to make decisions.
This is not high literature. You should understand my rating under this light: Kent's only ambition is to tell entertaining navy tales, and what he sets out to do he does well. I had a good time and want to keep reading this series, hence my good rating.
Here, Bolitho serves in the HMS Gorgon, a powerful ship of the line that has been sent to the African coast to deal with pirates. Bolitho has to put up with a lieutenant who dislikes him because of his family and who is not shy about taking the credit for his ideas and actions.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about military sailing ships, in the style of C. S. Forester.… (more)
Good old-fashioned British navy adventure, in the style of C. S. Forester. While I had a good time reading it, there was something that prevented me from enjoying it fully. The story is told in a rather disjointed manner. Instead of going from scene to scene seamlessly and letting the reader see the logical consequences of each action, we sometimes jump from scene to scene. The problem was not bad enough to make me despair, but it did dampen my enjoyment.
This series is more in the style of C. S. Forester's Hornblower than in the style of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin. Kent is not a fancy writer, but he writes in a straightforward and competent manner and he knows his 18th century British Navy stuff. The reader soon is immersed in the atmosphere of the ship, accompanying 16-year-old Richard Bolitho as he fulfills his midshipman duties. The stories are part description of life aboard and part adventure/war plot.
I have seen other reviewers of this book complaining that Bolitho lacks personality, and I can see where they are coming from. In the crowded conditions of the ship, with no privacy, strict military discipline and almost no spare time, it is difficult for people to express their personality. C. S. Forester dealt with that by giving Hornblower some exaggerated personality tics, which made him seem more distinctive. Kent does not do that, so Bolitho's personality is less remarkable. But that's OK with me. He is an eager midshipman, competent (unlike Hornblower, we meet Bolitho when he already is an experienced midshipman) but still not as confident as he'll probably be when he is more senior. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll get to know him better, particularly as he gains more authority to make decisions.
This is not high literature. You should understand my rating under this light: Kent's only ambition is to tell entertaining navy tales, and what he sets out to do he does well. I had a good time and want to keep reading this series, hence my good rating.
This book actually collects two different tales that have also been published separately, each of them novellas around 100 pages long.
In the first one, Bolitho serves in the HMS Gorgon, a powerful ship of the line that has been sent to the African coast to deal with pirates. Bolitho has to put up with a lieutenant who dislikes him because of his family and who is not shy about taking the credit for his ideas and actions. In the second he is at home, on leave, accompanied by a friend he has invited (a fellow midshipman). His elder brother, a lieutenant, arrives then, commanding the small and underhanded cutter HM Avenger. He has received permission to recruit both midshipmen, so instead of enjoying their leave the boys have to take part in a risky mission to stop smugglers and shipwreckers in the area. Apart from the adventure, the half-fond half-strained relationship between the two brothers is one of the points of interest.
One of the problems when we follow a navy hero who is not senior enough to command his own ship is that it's not easy for him to make a difference when all he can do is follow orders. This means that the author needs to find an way each time to give him the opportunity to shine. Another thing that you'll notice is that Britain is not at war, so the opponents are pirates and smugglers. No doubt that will change further on in the series.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about military sailing ships, in the style of C. S. Forester.… (more)
I have seen other reviewers of this book complaining that Bolitho lacks personality, and I can see where they are coming from. In the crowded conditions of the ship, with no privacy, strict military discipline and almost no spare time, it is difficult for people to express their personality. C. S. Forester dealt with that by giving Hornblower some exaggerated personality tics, which made him seem more distinctive. Kent does not do that, so Bolitho's personality is less remarkable. But that's OK with me. He is an eager midshipman, competent (unlike Hornblower, we meet Bolitho when he already is an experienced midshipman) but still not as confident as he'll probably be when he is more senior. Hopefully as the series goes on we'll get to know him better, particularly as he gains more authority to make decisions.
This is not high literature. You should understand my rating under this light: Kent's only ambition is to tell entertaining navy tales, and what he sets out to do he does well. I had a good time and want to keep reading this series, hence my good rating.
This book actually collects two different tales that have also been published separately, each of them novellas around 100 pages long.
In the first one, Bolitho serves in the HMS Gorgon, a powerful ship of the line that has been sent to the African coast to deal with pirates. Bolitho has to put up with a lieutenant who dislikes him because of his family and who is not shy about taking the credit for his ideas and actions. In the second he is at home, on leave, accompanied by a friend he has invited (a fellow midshipman). His elder brother, a lieutenant, arrives then, commanding the small and underhanded cutter HM Avenger. He has received permission to recruit both midshipmen, so instead of enjoying their leave the boys have to take part in a risky mission to stop smugglers and shipwreckers in the area. Apart from the adventure, the half-fond half-strained relationship between the two brothers is one of the points of interest.
One of the problems when we follow a navy hero who is not senior enough to command his own ship is that it's not easy for him to make a difference when all he can do is follow orders. This means that the author needs to find an way each time to give him the opportunity to shine. Another thing that you'll notice is that Britain is not at war, so the opponents are pirates and smugglers. No doubt that will change further on in the series.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about military sailing ships, in the style of C. S. Forester.… (more)
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- 121
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- 20
- Members
- 13,115
- Popularity
- #1,780
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 172
- ISBNs
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