The Gunroom Heroes — Brian Smith

The corvette HMS Redoubtable sets sail from Aden to go to Suez for inspection of a mysterious leak. Midshipmen Charlie and Harold look forward to a break in their routine hunting Arab slave traders and to have some fun ashore in Egypt. Yet even on land things aren't always peaceful. Instead of merely sightseeing some pukka perils await the two friends.Arthur Lee Knight (1852 - 7 Jul 1944) was a popular author of adventure books in the late 19th and early 20th century. Around 1868 he joined the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen as a junior midshipman, where he served on the 51-gun screw frigate HMS Forte.Having been a midshipman in the navy he was familiar with life in the navy and many of the episodes in his novels - such as hunting Arab slave traders - are clearly events he experienced himself and give unique insight into the world and people in the Victorian age. His readable and often racy stories are characterized by authentic navy language of the time and evocative descriptions of seascapes, distant countries and unusual people.