A sea story is a work of fiction set largely at sea.

Contents 1 Description 2 Themes 3 Works 3.1 Novels 3.2 Periodicals 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Description

The enclosed setting of life aboard a ship allows an author to portray a social world in miniature, with characters cut off from the outside world and forced to interact in cramped and stressful conditions.

The form has been popular from Homer's Odyssey onwards.

[edit] Themes

Themes can include:

• Interpersonal difficulties and interactions:
  • Differences between seamen and officers
  • Bullying behavior
  • Mutiny
  • Bawdy liaisons with bar-girls in exotic locales
• Inter-ship difficulties, and ship goals:
  • Piracy
  • Naval activity and battles
  • Commercial fishing
  • Boat racing
• Natural difficulties:
  • Struggles against treacherous weather and sea conditions
  • Shipwrecks
  • Explorations of inhospitable areas

[edit] Works

[edit] Novels

Notable exponents of the sea story include:

• William Cardell (1780–1828): The Story of Jack Halyard and other works
• Captain Frederick Marryat (1792–1848): Peter Simple
• Herman Melville (1819–1891): Moby-Dick
• C. S. Forester (1899–1966): Horatio Hornblower series
• Nicholas Monsarrat (1910–1979): The Cruel Sea
• Patrick O'Brian (1914–2000): Aubrey–Maturin series

[edit] Periodicals

Sea-story periodicals include:

• The Ocean, one of the first specialized pulp magazines (March 1907 to January 1908)^[1]
• Sea Stories, a Street & Smith pulp (February 1922 to June 1930)
• Sea Novel Magazine, a Frank A. Munsey pulp (2 issues, November 1940, January 1941)
• Sea Story Annual and Sea Story Anthology, 1940's Street & Smith large-size reprint pulps
• Tales of the Sea, digest (Spring 1953)

[edit] References

1. ^ "Lost at Sea: The Story of The Ocean," introduction to The Ocean: 100th Anniversary Collection (Off-Trail Publications, 2008).

[edit] See also

• Submarine film
• Robinsonade