Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Midshipman Quinn Collection
Historical Fiction
For ages 12 and up
Bethlehem Books, 1999 ISBN: 978-1883937454
Septimus Quinn is probably the most unlikely navy man you are will ever meet. He is small, bespectacled, scholarly, and with a very serious expression on his fact most of the time. In fact before he joins His Majesty's Navy Septimus spends much of his time reading and carrying out all kinds of interesting, and often explosive, scientific experiments.
Now, however Septimus is a midshipman on the HMS frigate Althea. Surprisingly Septimus' rational and inventive mind is able to turn to the problems of war on the high seas almost as easily as it was able to work out scientific problems when he lived at home. When he is one of a party who has to capture a Frenchman on enemy soil, Septimus proves to his fellow sailors that he is both brave and resourceful and this fact is only further emphasized when he has a number of other adventures.
In this collection of four stories ("Midshipman Quinn," "Quinn of the Fury," "Midshipman Quinn and Denise the Spy," and "Quinn of Trafalgar") the author Showell Styles tells highly colourful stories about a fascinating period in world history. As the war against Napoleon?s navy rages around him Quinn quietly builds a reputation for himself as a resourceful and often unpredictable naval office. Often funny and full of that special something which makes him liked by most of the people who meet him, Quinn is a character who will appeal to anyone who likes to think 'outside the box.'
