Japhet: in Search of A Father is the story of a foundling, abandoned by his parents, who is searching for the truth of his identity.
Set in England and Ireland, it follows Japhet through his career as he trains as an apothecary apprentice, spends time in a gypsy camp, enters high society and then faces ruin and ends up living in a Quaker community.
Captain Frederick Marryat (1792 – 1848) was a Royal Navy officer and novelist. He was an early pioneer of nautical fiction, inspiring the likes of C. S. Forester, who wrote the Hornblower stories, and Patrick O'Brian (Master and Commander).