The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service or, Earning New Ratings in European Seas

Patchin, Frank Gee, 1861-1925Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.0
Word count
210K words
Chapters
22

Tags

English Originals Military Military AdventureNaval LifeForeign ServiceAdventure JourneyHeroismTest of CourageComing of AgeGrowing UpYouth Reading

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Battleship Boys in Foreign Service; or, Earning New Ratings in European SeasAuthor: Patchin, Frank Gee, 1861-1925,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Jun 13, 2013

Editor's review

This book is one volume in Frank G. Patchin's "Battleship Boys" series and belongs to juvenile adventure fiction; the English original title indicates "serving abroad, earning new ratings in European seas." Set against a naval background, the work revolves around the growth, discipline, and adventures of young sailors, continuing the narrative tradition of early twentieth-century American juvenile literature that emphasized courage, responsibility, and patriotism. The plot moves briskly and serves as a sample for understanding the appearance of early English-language juvenile adventure literature. For young readers, it offers a maritime adventure experience marked by its era; for researchers, it allows observation of how boy-oriented reading matter of the time shaped career ideals and masculinity. The electronic edition is released free by Project Gutenberg, making it convenient for classroom selection or extracurricular extensive reading, though it should be noted that the naval concepts and expressions in the book carry obvious period limitations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. As English extensive reading material, read through the plot first without looking up every word, maintaining reading fluency.
  2. After each chapter, retell the main points in a few sentences to train young readers' English summarizing ability.
  3. Discuss the naval discipline and teamwork episodes in the book with children, connecting them to awareness of rules in real life.
  4. Pay attention to expressions shaped by the historical background while reading, and guide readers toward critical comparison.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22

FAQ

What age of child is this book suitable for? Judging by subject matter and language difficulty, it is relatively suitable for young people from upper primary to junior high school, and requires some foundation in English reading. Younger children are advised to read it with a parent or choose a translated edition.
Which book in the series is this? This book is one volume in the "Battleship Boys" series, and the English subtitle indicates that the story takes place during service abroad. The materials do not specify the exact number, so it is recommended to choose the reading order according to the series' publication order or plot continuity.
Is the naval knowledge in the book accurate? The work is juvenile adventure fiction focused on plot and coming-of-age themes, not a military technical manual. Its depictions of naval life carry the marks of their era, and readers should not treat it as rigorous military historical material.
Can the electronic edition be read for free? According to the materials, the book is released by Project Gutenberg and is a free public-domain e-book. Project Gutenberg is known for providing free e-books, and readers can legally obtain it at no cost.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Patchin, Frank Gee, 1861-1925 Author

Patchin, Frank Gee (1861–1925) was an American author known for juvenile adventure fiction, though public information about his life is limited and many biographical details remain unclear. The library holds 15 of his works, chiefly from the "Pony Rider Boys" and "Battleship Boys" series, with subjects ranging from silver mining pursuits in New Mexico and gold digging in Alaska to riddles on the Texas plains, hunting trails in Louisiana, and apprentice experiences in the U.S. Navy. Featuring young protagonists, the stories are tightly plotted and emphasize courage, exploration, and teamwork, bearing the vivid adventure spirit of their era. These novels offered early twentieth-century young readers a blend of geographical knowledge and outdoor adventure, and they remain useful examples of American juvenile literature of the period.