Product Description

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. All eighteen books are being re-issued in hardback by HarperCollins with stunning new jackets to coincide with a new film based on the adventures and to introduce these modern classics to a new generation. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are ordered home by despatch vessel to bring the news of their latest victory to the government. But Maturin is a marked man for the havoc he has wrought in the French intelligence network in the New World, and the attentions of two privateers soon become menacing. The chase that follows through the fogs and shallows of the Grand Banks is as thrilling, as tense and as unexpected in its culmination as anything Patrick O'Brian has written. Then, among other things, follows a shipwreck and a particularly sinister internment in the notorious Temple Prison in Paris. Once again, the tigerish and fascinating Diana Villiers redresses the balance in this man's world of seamanship and war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8237 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11-04
• Format: Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

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 'In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater.' Mary Renault 'I never enjoyed a novel about the sea more. It is not only that the author describes the handling of a ship of 1800 with an accuracy that is as comprehensible as it is detailed, a remarkable feat in itself. Mr O'Brian's three chief characters are drawn with no less depth of sympathy than the vessels he describes, a rare achievement save in the greatest writers of this genre. It deserves the widest readership.' Irish Times

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

The best since Post Captain
I have fallen for these novels since a sceptical encounter with master and Commander I have hurtled through about one a week .

This is the best so far . The development of the characters especailly Aubrey and Maturin never stales and the interplay between the recurring characters is never boring.

The eye for detail is amazing and the shipboard writing accurate but not impenetrable.

These are beautifully written and exciting novels .

Lucky number 7
For anyone who has yet to read one of Patrick O'Brian's novels; please do not be put off by the film Master & Commander, if you have seen it.

These books are superb and, in my view, this is the best so far.

The Surgeon's Mate (his 7th in the Aubrey/Maturin series) focuses more on the intelligence activities of Dr Maturin - something sadly not even acknowledged in the film. Dr Maturin usually contrives to get Jack Aubrey ordered to transport him to his various assignments and therefore become somehow involved in them. In this story Jack is quite desperate to flee England (to escape the threatened visitation from an earlier extra-marital liason), only to end up with both men captured by the French.

The build up in tension is brilliant, as we read of the French Intelligence's successes in piecing together the evidence that will eventually see our heroes standing before a firing squad, while our boys plot and execute their escape - a true race against time.

The story is spell-binding - the book difficult to put down - and ends with their eventual aid coming from a most unexpected source.

Patrick O'Brian's mastery of both the English language and history of Naval warfare is unbeatable. His equal touches of comedy, grief and humanity really do put him way out ahead of the competition.

Great stuff - but don't take it on holiday with you. Your family will pine for want of your attention and the in-laws will never speak to you again ... I'll get yours in the post, shall I?