The Children of the New Forest is a children's novel printed in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is place in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. The story accompanies the fortunes of the four Beverley children (Edward, Humphrey, Alice and Edith) who are orphaned during the war, and hide from their Roundhead tyrants in the shelter of the New Forest where they grasp to live off the land. These four children in the novel usually become ideal models of manhood and womanhood, and even the gypsy boy Pablo is trained into their civilising ways. The peril they build to bait cattle catches more than they deal for, leading to one experience after another. Against all chances they dextrously exercise through the traitorous landscape of the times, usually recovering their family estate. Their deeds and efforts to live in the forest form the center of this novel. This book is a celebration of genteel ness, courage and tolerance.
Captain Frederick Marryat (an early innovator of the sea story) was a British Royal Navy Officer and novelist. He gained the Royal Human Society's gold medal for bravery, before leaving the services in 1830 to write books. He is mainly remembered for his stories of the sea, many written from his own experiences. He started a series of adventure novels marked by a brilliant, direct narrative style and an absolute fund of incident and fun. These have The King's Own (1830), Peter Simple (1834), and Mr. Midshipman Easy (1836). He also created a number of children's books, among which The Children of the New Forest (1847), a story of the English Civil Wars is a classic of children literature. A Life and Letters was processed by his daughter Florence (1872). He is recognised also for a broadly used system of maritime flag signalling known as Marryat's Code. Familiar for his adventurous novels, his works are known for their representation of deep family bonds and social structure beside naval action. Marryat died in 1848 at the age of fifty.
