Heroes
A Guest Post by Kimberley Jordan Reeman
Introduction: Antoine Vanner

Heroes – Kimberley Jordan Reeman
A very young reader of the Alexander Kent books once wrote to my husband Douglas that one of his characters, John Allday, a naval coxswain, and formerly a Cornish shepherd, would be the perfect friend, but it was impossible to get enough of Captain, and later Admiral, Richard Bolitho. She was twelve years old.
We may well ask what fascination this man holds for women all over the world who, since 1968, have been reading the Bolitho series. These are, after all, novels of the sea, technical in language and manoeuvre, and often bloodily violent.

Commodore Augustus Keppel – much as Richard Bolitho might have looked in his prime
They are also, of course, about people, and specifically the life and times of Richard Bolitho. Early in his career the New York Times described him as “James Bond with barnacles”, and certainly that youthful swashbuckling quality was very attractive. The young Bolitho combines an undeniable sex appeal with the finest romantic attributes: romance in the sense of gallantry, courtesy and honour. Perhaps his appeal lies in the romance of the period: an eighteenth century of splendour and courtliness, exquisite clothing and manners, silks and jewels, powder and patch, the fan and the minuet. This reality is balanced by a harsher perception of the truth⸺ poverty, crime and disease⸺ but the Georgians epitomise elegance and beauty in the popular imagination, and against this glittering backdrop we may fairly set Richard Bolitho.
He is a vulnerable man, never certain of the love of his sailors or his subordinates, always personally doubtful of his right to demand their obedience or their very lives; and strength and vulnerability can be a devastatingly attractive combination in any character. He is never confident in love, never arrogant, although he has sometimes behaved with a reckless and passionate abandon in his quest for it; and he has sometimes chosen unwisely. His second marriage is a failure, and this too is evidence of his humanity: in attempting to find his dead wife in another woman, he makes a decision which is irrevocable, and which he will always regret. This marriage cannot be dissolved, and fate decrees that while trapped in it he is reunited with the woman he truly loves, and for whom he must now dare scandal and censure and place his career in jeopardy. There is no possibility of divorce in Bolitho’s England, except by Act of Parliament, and such a process is lengthy and expensive and, of course, very public.

At the debut of Richard Bolitho – Douglas Reeman in 1968 at publication of “To Glory We Steer”
And finally there are the qualities of the mature man, perhaps a more sombre, introspective Bolitho than the “James Bond with barnacles”, and indeed the author was sometimes accused of making him a melancholy fellow in later books. The author had nothing to do with it: Bolitho developed at his own will and no one else’s. Perhaps he merely acquires the wisdom of maturity, the poignant appreciation of true values, an awareness of the passage of time. He has fought the same enemy in the same seas for too many years, and the price is always too high, the friends too dear, the life too short and too precious. He reflects, possibly, the author’s own maturity, but he speaks to all of us: the vulnerable lover, the cherished friend, the hero to be emulated, the essential gentleman, in whose flaws and qualities there is something of every one.
And what of the man who created him? What was he like as a person, an individual? He gave himself and his own great talent little credit: every book was approached with apprehension and nervousness. There was no formula, no easy technique even after fifty years. Every book was lived as it was written, an experience as emotionally draining for the writer as it is for the reader. These are books to cherish, and to share, and they reflect virtues which are perhaps regarded as old-fashioned in a modern world: the qualities of honour, courage, love of country, comradeship, a consciousness of duty, humility, sensitivity, and compassion. These are qualities found in heroes like Richard Bolitho. Douglas would be the first to deny it, but they originated in himself.
He was a man of great personal charm and humour, sometimes easily hurt: a man passionately committed to accuracy and attention to historical detail, and perpetually and endearingly surprised by the affection and interest of his readers. He was often compared to Forester, which is unfortunate and unfair: it should be recalled that Forester, who will always be remembered for Hornblower, had a demonstrable contempt for his character. For Douglas, Richard Bolitho was a shadowy, constant presence, inspiration and companion, an independent force, and regarded sometimes with almost superstitious awe. He often said that he regarded himself merely as Bolitho’s secretary⸺ as one chosen to tell his story, which for more than forty years illuminated a dark past, inspired, enlightened, educated, but above all entertained.
It was a joy and a privilege to have shared his life.
I never met Douglas, though I did email him once and had a very courteous reply. I have read nearly all his “modern” naval books, but always took special delight in the Bolitho stories by his alter ego Alexander Kent.
At the start of the second lockdown I decided to re-read them all, in chronological order as I do have them all.
I was not surprised at how I had forgotten and hence how much pleasure I got from losing myself in Nelson’s navy. Richard, Adam, Allday, Herrick, Keen, Inch, et al lived again.
So thanks you Douglas, for giving them to us
I share the sense of gratitude to Douglas – I would never have written the Dawlish Chronicles without his inspiration on the one occasion I met him. And he was a typical man of “the Greatest Generation”
My favourite author for years. 84.o.a.p and veteran.
I had the pleasure of meeting Douglas many times once when he introduced you Kim, to me in a shop that I was managing, in Cobham, Surrey. The first time I met him I told him he was my favourite author, I was reading Bolitho at the time and so star struck. He did no more but take off his Bolitho tie and gave it to me. Happy days indeed.
What a splendid story, Terry, and one that tells just what sort of man that Douglas Reeman was. I was very lucky to have met him and he was the embodiment of all that was admirable in the WW2 Generation. The sort of man anyone would aspire to be.
Best Wishes and Thanks for the story: Antomine
A good example of writers inspiring writers, Antoine. I like how you included your memory of meeting Douglas Reeman in a bookstore. The character summary and comparison of Bolitho and the late Reeman was astute.
I was very lucky to have met Douglas Reeman – it was at a time of very high business stress, with constant flitting between Britain and The Netherlands, but I’m glad that I fixed my schedule so that I could go to see him. I’ve been in his debt ever since – and he’s an example for all of us for doing our best to encourage and help other writers.
Best Wishes: Antoine
Writers inspire writers at every stage of their careers. Douglas Reeman/Alexander Kent is beloved among the fleet of novelists who write from the Royal Naval Officer’s point of view, a fleet you sail with, Antoine Vanner, though in a different period, aboard a riverboat or steamship. Thanks for sharing your memories of meeting the author and of reading his books.Your recollection of theme and Bolitho character summary is astute.
A fitting post for today, Remembrance Day here in the UK. Heroes, whether factual or fictional, help us remember those who served.