Frederick Marryat 
Poor Jack (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: Poverty in London during the 19th century and the splendorous Victorian Era

Originally published in 1840, “Poor Jack” is a novel by English author Frederick Marryat.

“Poor Jack” tells the story of Thomas Saunders, a sailor’s son and neglected street urchin struggling to survive in Greenwich, London in the early 19th century. (
Poor Jack was the title given by the waterfront boys, or mudlarks, to their chief.) In a rags-to-riches story Saunders eventually rises by his own efforts to become a pilot on the Thames, makes his fortune and retires to the life of a wealthy squire.

“Poor Jack” includes interesting descriptions of domestic life among the naval lower ranks and contains many anecdotes of seafaring life.