Product Description

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their beginning, with Master and Commander, these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback with smart new livery. This is the second book in the series. Patrick O'Brian is regarded by many as the greatest historical novelist now writing. Post Captain, the second novel in his remarkable Aubrey/Maturin series, led Mary Renault to write: 'Master and Commander raised dangerously high expectations; Post Captain triumphantly surpasses them.' This tale begins with Jack Aubrey arriving home from his exploits in the Mediterranean to find England at peace following the Treaty of Amiens. He and his friend Stephen Maturin, surgeon and secret agent, begin to live the lives of country gentlemen, hunting, entertaining and enjoying more amorous adventures. Their comfortable existence, however, is cut short when Jack is overnight reduced to a pauper with enough debts to keep him in prison for life. He flees to the continent to seek refuge: instead he finds himself a hunted fugitive as Napoleon has ordered the internment of all Englishmen in France. Aubrey's adventures in escaping from France and the debtors' prison will grip the reader as fast as his unequalled actions at sea.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6561 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-07
• Format: Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The year is 1803, and that scalliwag Napoleon Bonaparte has gone to war again. For Captain Jack Aubrey, who has fled to France to escape his creditors, this is doubly alarming news. In short order the captain is interned, makes his escape across the French countryside, then leads a ship into battle. And again, his adventures are cleverly counterpointed by those of his alter ego Stephen Maturin. --Amazon.com

Review
'!full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein! Patrick O'Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.' James Hamilton- Paterson 'You are in for the treat of your lives. Thank God for Patrick O'Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.' Kevin Myers, Irish Times 'Written with most engaging enthusiasm that can't fail to give pleasure to anybody who enjoys historical adventure flavoured with more than a dash of realism.' Sunday Times 'Liveliness and expertise! the hero is vigorous flesh and blood.' Observer 'This book sets him at the very top of his genre' Mary Renault

About the Author
Patrick O'Brian, until his death in 2000, was one of our greatest contemporary novelists. He is the author of the acclaimed Aubrey--Maturin tales and the biographer of Joseph Banks and Picasso. He is the author of many other books including Testimonies, and his Collected Short Stories. In 1995 he was the first recipient of the Heywood Hill Prize for a lifetime's contribution to literature. In the same year he was awarded the CBE. In 1997 he received an honorary doctorate of letters from Trinity College, Dublin. He lived for many years in South West France and he died in Dublin in January 2000.

Customer Reviews

High standard maintained by O'Brian
This impressive follow up to the very good, 'Master & Commander', follows the mixed fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey, the good natured and garrulous Royal Naval commander and his good friend, the calm and introverted ships surgeon and sometime secret agent Stephen Maturin, as they try to readjust to peace with Bonaparte's France following the Treaty of Amiens.

After indulging in the social life expected of country gentlemen and tying themselves in emotional knots over women in the shape of the graceful and beautiful Sophie Williams and the feisty and attractive Diana Villiers, they are forced to flee England when Jack unexpectedly finds himself in penury following the trickery of his prize agent and the successful appeal by two 'neutrals' (captured ships) whose money he had banked on..

Throughout the book, the naval action is interspersed with three other elements that in effect bind the novel together.

Firstly Jack's financial plight, that sees him living in dread of being arrested for debt. In one riotous episode, Jack is nearly apprehended during a celebration at an inn for Pullings promotion.

Secondly the romantic entanglements of both Jack and Stephen, who find affairs of the heart much more problematic than affairs at sea.

The last binding element is Stephen's spying missions for the Admiralty. These are always undertaken without Jack's knowledge and see him travelling throughout Spain trying to gauge Spain's intentions and the likelihood of a bid for Catalan independence.

An initially ponderous book, that is hard going for the first one hundred pages, it nevertheless comes alive in time to join its predecessor as another fine example of historical fiction set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Let there be no mistake, this is historical fiction from the top drawer. O'Brian's detail and ability to capture the ambience of the period is quite without equal, to all intents and purposes, in both dialogue and attitudes, you are transported nearly two hundred years into the past where as a 'fly on the wall' you can view the adventures of our two incompatible but inseparable heroes. At times the realism of the naval jargon, as orders and instructions are flying to and fro, can leave one feeling a little bewildered, much like a landsman coerced onto Jack's ship, however O'Brian never leaves you in any doubt about the result of all these nautical discourses.

The comedic element is also present. Stephen's inability to observe the rigid naval code of proper etiquette and behaviour is a constant theme in this book. His insistence, for example, on bringing a hive of bees on board the crack frigate 'Lively'whilst dressed in an odd woollen garment is very amusing. I also had to laugh at the drunken antics of the young midshipman Parslow who addressed Jack as 'Goldilocks' on the quarter-deck.

All in all an impressive book, a more than worthy follow-up to the groundbreaking 'Master & Commander' and a book that confirms O'Brian as one of the leaders in the field of historical fiction. If you have read 'Post Captain', having previously read, 'Master & Commander', then it is too late, you are by now most definitely hooked and all O'Brian's other Aubrey and Maturin novels lie in wait.'Where away ?' is the nearest bookshop ?

Possibly one of the best historical novelists of all time
I had put off reading the Aubrey/Maturin novels; I was still undecided after reading "Master and Commander"; I bought this book (the second in the series) because I had a plane journey ahead - I had finished it and bought the sequel within 24 hours. Patrick O'Brian does not re-create the past - he inhabits it in a uniquely rich, exciting and funny way. I recommend this book heartily - "and wish you of joy of it, for all love."

A fine sequel to Master and Commander
Master and Commander was an excellent start to the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels, and the going gets even better with Post Captain. We find Aubrey and Maturin living ashore for a period, which gives O'Brian the chance to show us a romantic side to both their characters that we have not previously seen, with a depiction of early 19th century bourgeois society that Jane Austen would have been proud of. Far from weakening the book (as some reviewers below have suggested), this strengthens it and the series in general, as it fills out the characters and prepares us for what is to follow, not least the jealousy that arises between the two men, the flight from the bailiffs, and Stephen's spying activities.

O'Brian of course serves up the usual fare of sea battles, both at sea, in a French harbour, and on land between Aubrey and the malicious Admiral Harte. What captivates in these books is that O'Brian is not describing perfection. His heroes are clearly flawed and compromised, but this does not prevent us from becoming deeply attached to them. Even the ships in which they sail are far from perfect - in fact, in the case of the Polychrest, it is exactly the opposite.

Another great quality is that one is completely immersed in O'Brian's universe. Although most of the technical descriptions of sailing are beyond my knowledge, it is still a joy to read them used without compromise. Similarly, the descriptions of 19th century medical practices and beliefs are both erudite and fascinating.

The quality of the writing, the delicacy of thought and the narrative drive and excitement in the heat of the action mean that these are not just good historical novels, they are excellent as novels of any genre. I look forward to the next volume!