The Bolitho novels
series of historical novels by Douglas Reeman under the name Alexander Kent
The Bolitho novels are a series of nautical war novels by Alexander Kent, the pseudonym of British author Douglas Reeman. They focus on the military careers of the fictional Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho in the Royal Navy, from the time of the American Revolution past the Napoleonic Era.
Richard Bolitho
Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the main character in Reeman's novels. Bolitho was born in 1756 in Falmouth, Cornwall, in Great Britain, the second son of a prestigious naval family. He joined the navy in 1768 and served in the wars against France and the United States. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1774, captain in 1782, and admiral in 1812. He died in action against the French in 1815. He played a significant role in driving the Americans back to Brooklyn Heights in 1776, helping to secure a decisive British victory in the largest battle of the entire American Revolution.
The name Bolitho is a common Cornish surname, but Reeman says that he borrowed the name Richard Bolitho from a real person, "a distinguished old chap" he had met in the Channel Islands when he sailed his boat there. Reeman also states that the real Richard Bolitho was the brother of the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7719048. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1756, 1768, 1774 and 1782.
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