author
David W. (David William) Bone
1874–1959
A real seaman as well as a storyteller, he turned years in the Merchant Navy into vivid nautical fiction that readers still remember for its salty detail and sense of life at sea. His best-known work, The Brassbounder, follows a young apprentice and helped secure his reputation as one of the notable voices of maritime adventure.
2 Audiobooks
The Brassbounder: A Tale of the Sea
by David W. (David William) Bone
Merchantmen-at-arms : the British merchants' service in the war
by David W. (David William) Bone
About the author
Born in Glasgow on June 22, 1874, David W. Bone was a Scottish master mariner who spent much of his working life at sea before becoming known as an author. He served with the Anchor Line and rose to the rank of commodore, bringing first-hand knowledge of ships, sailors, and long voyages to everything he wrote.
That experience gave his fiction its unusual authority. Bone specialized in nautical stories and sea novels, with The Brassbounder becoming his most widely remembered book. He also wrote about the Merchant Navy in wartime, drawing on the world he knew from the inside rather than from a distance.
He was honored later in life and is often listed as Sir David William Bone. He died on May 17, 1959, leaving behind work valued for its plain, convincing picture of seafaring life.