Clowes, W. Laird (William Laird), Sir
"The captain of the "Mary Rose"" by Sir W. Laird Clowes is a naval future-war novel written in the late 19th century. Framed as a near-future “tale of to-morrow,” it imagines a sudden Anglo-French war at sea, blending reportage, technical detail, and frontline action. The story follows British naval officers and, soon, the audacious captain of the privateer Mary Rose as they confront surprise attacks, night actions, and the high-speed chess of modern fleets and torpedo craft.The opening of the novel first sets out the author’s aim: to show what the sea-fighting of tomorrow will be like, with special attention to Britain’s vulnerability in the Mediterranean. It then plunges into crisis: a brawl between British and French sailors at Toulon, submarine cables cut, obstructed crossings, and escalating communiqués culminating in a French declaration of war. Britain scrambles to mobilize while London reels; meanwhile, off Toulon, a night encounter—confused by search-lights—leads to a brutal engagement told by a survivor from HMS Benbow, who recounts overwhelming French fire, torpedo attacks, and the loss or disablement of much of the Mediterranean Fleet. The narrative then shifts home to Spithead, where, amid coaling and half-finished defenses, a French torpedo flotilla uses a feint from the east and a real thrust through the Needles to devastate anchored ships in minutes, exposing fatal gaps in readiness and the perils of modern night warfare. (This is an automatically generated su…
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