David Hannay opens his biography of Frederick Marryat by acknowledging the scarcity of source material: 'The materials for a life of Marryat are scanty,' he writes, relying on Mrs. Ross Church's 1872 collection of family knowledge. Hannay's stated aim is to tell 'what story there is to tell in the clearest possible manner' and to offer an estimate of Marryat's work and position in letters. The biography traces Marryat from his birth in 1792 through his naval service under the formidable Captain Lord Cochrane aboard the Impérieuse, his later commands, and his transition to a literary career after 1830.

Naval Foundations and Cochrane's Influence

Hannay devotes substantial space to Marryat's formative years at sea, particularly his service under Lord Cochrane. The biography describes Cochrane's character and his influence on Marryat, noting that the cruises of the Impérieuse were later described by Marryat in his private log. Specific episodes include a narrow escape, an affair in the boats, and the capture of a Maltese privateer named Pasquil Giliano. Hannay also records Marryat's own acts of heroism, such as saving several men from drowning. The narrative moves through the Basque Roads action and the end of the Great War, providing a concrete sense of the naval world that would later populate Marryat's fiction.

Literary Career and Editorial Ventures

After resigning his last command in November 1830, Marryat turned to writing. Hannay notes his early success in novel writing and his editorial ventures, including The Metropolitan Magazine. The biography mentions that Marryat worked hard in 1833-34, stood for Parliament in Tower Hamlets (and failed), and lived at Brighton before going abroad. Hannay presents Marryat as a writer with expensive habits, yet one who managed his literary business shrewdly. The account is grounded in specific details—such as a quotation from a letter about a lawsuit—rather than broad generalizations about his literary merit.

American Sojourn: Observation and Commerce

Hannay's treatment of Marryat's 1837-38 American tour is notably detailed. He describes how Americans, wary of foreign commentators, were 'intent to know whether Marryat meant to write about them.' Marryat navigated this with dexterity, keeping on friendly terms while observing copyright institutions and their effects. Hannay includes a letter from Marryat to his mother, written from a steamer on Lake Erie, recounting a journey of 'some thousand miles' by lake and canoe, including five days in a bark canoe on Lake Superior. The biography also records a business arrangement with Carey and Hart for advance proof sheets of his 'Diary in America' and 'The Phantom Ship' for $2,250, with a possible bonus of $250—evidence of Marryat's 'usual turn for business.'

Hannay's biography, though necessarily reliant on published materials, offers a compact, evidence-based portrait of Marryat's dual life as naval officer and man of letters. Readers interested in the interplay between Marryat's sea experience and his fiction will find the early chapters particularly valuable, while those curious about the business of authorship in the 1830s will appreciate the American episode. The book is best approached as a concise introduction rather than a definitive life.