The Children of the New Forest set during the the English Civil War and the Commonwealth about 4 orphans hiding from their Roundhead oppressors and living off the land. Captain Frederick Marryat (1792-1848) was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story. He is now known particularly for the semi-autobiographical novel Mr. Midshipman Easy, and for a widely used system of maritime flag signaling, known as Marryat's Code.
