Alexander Kent's "Bolitho" Series

"Alexander Kent" is a pseudonym for Douglas Reeman, a contemporary British writer who joined the British Navy at the age of 16 and served on destroyers during the second World War. His descriptions of the rigging and handling of sailing ships of war, and life aboard them, carry the weight of authenticity, while his stories are full of adventure and action. The books follow the experiences of Richard Bolitho from a nervous, twelve-year-old midshipman in an awesome ship-of-the-line, through promotion, to the eventual command of his own vessel, "the most coveted gift", as he described it. The 26-volume has been translated into nearly two dozen languages.