The Dark Frigate

by Charles Boardman Hawes
Category: "Fiction - Adventure"
Pages:246
Year of Publication:1923
Date Added:09/17/2008
Date Read:04/05/2015
Notes:Philip Marham was the grandson of a wealthy clergyman, but his father had rebelled and raised him at sea. When his father died, the young man was on his own. He wandered about England, ending up in the company of one Martin, a shady character. The two signed aboard a ship, the Rose of Devon, bound for Newfoundland for a cargo of fish. After a storm, they stop to rescue the crew of a foundered ship. The captain of that ship, known as the Old One, is a pirate and lead his men to take over the Rose of Devon. Philip is forced to go with them on a series of failed adventures. He finally escapes and tries to sneak aboard a British man-o-war just as the Old One attacks. Philip is taken back to England and tried with the pirates but his story is believed and he alone is acquitted. He fights against Cromwell and then goes back to sea.
My Rating: 5

Reviews for The Dark Frigate

Review - Dark Frigate, The

Supposedly groundbreaking in that it was one of the first books written for kids that portrayed life as difficult. It won the Newbery Medal in 1923.

I found it rather tedious. The author's attempt to use the language of the times failed often, with accents and styles of speech coming and going all the time. The pirates were decidedly incompetent also. After taking over Philip's ship, they attacked another ship and were beaten off, twice attempted to take a Spanish town and were beaten off twice and then attacked the man-o-war that got them captured and hung. I never cared enough about Philip's character to care what happened to him, and other characters appeared that had little or no bearing on the advancement of the plot.

Reviewed by Roger on 2015-04-05 18:48:28

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