The Mission

"The Mission" by Captain Marryat is a novel aimed at young readers, written during the early 19th century. The story centers around Sir Charles Wilmot, an elderly gentleman mourning the loss of his family after the ship Grosvenor wrecks off the coast of Africa. This tragedy sets the stage for his grand-nephew, Alexander Wilmot, who, driven by a desire to uncover the truth about his lost relatives, embarks on a perilous expedition to explore the African interior. The opening of the novel introduces us to Sir Charles Wilmot, who is deeply distressed by the loss of his wife and children, presumed dead after the unfortunate shipwreck. Within the first chapter, we see the emotional weight of Sir Charles's grief and the burden it places on his heart. The narrative shifts to Alexander, a young man eager to undertake a journey that not only promises adventure but also the chance to bring closure to his uncle’s long-held worries about his lost family. Inspired and determined, Alexander ultimately convinces Sir Charles to permit his journey, setting the stage for both high-stakes adventure and personal discovery as he seeks to learn what happened to those aboard the Grosvenor. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Captain Frederick Marryat was a Royal Navy officer and a novelist. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel Mr Midshipman Easy (1836). He is remembered also for his children's novel The Children of the New Forest (1847). In addition, he developed a widely used system of maritime flag signalling, known as Marryat's Code.