The Patrick O'Brian Aubrey-Maturin series

The first four novels in the Aubrey–Maturin series.

Set against the sprawling canvas of the Napoleonic Wars, O’Brian’s naval adventure novels evoke this period in history like no others. International bestsellers, their success is down to the vim and vigour of O’Brian’s prose, his extraordinary eye for period detail and his ear for language. Skirmishes and full-blown battles with enemy warships; the dangers, from disease to mutiny, faced by sailors far from home; and the rituals and social conventions of late Georgian society – every command and custom, every description and figure of speech breathes authenticity. This, along with his sure and subtle grasp of plot and character, makes O’Brian, in the words of Max Hastings, ‘the most brilliant historical novelist of modern times’.

MASTER & COMMANDER

Minorca, 1800 – during a music recital, Stephen Maturin is driven to distraction by his neighbour’s humming. Elbowing Jack Aubrey in the ribs nearly provokes a duel, yet out of this unpromising beginning, a firm friendship grows and Aubrey appoints Maturin as ship’s surgeon aboard his tiny sloop, H.M.S Sophie. First published in 1970, Master & Commander set millions of people on an extraordinary journey and made Patrick O’Brian one of the world’s bestselling authors.

POST CAPTAIN

A fragile peace with France has come, but for Aubrey and Maturin, the realisation soon dawns that peace can hold as many perils as war. Their time as country gentlemen is cut short when Jack is reduced to penury and forced to flee abroad. Soon war breaks out again and both men find themselves fugitives from Bonaparte’s regime, with Maturin later heading undercover to Spain to test the mood for Catalan independence. Post Captain offers intriguing new insights into the two protagonists: negotiating the threat of capture, battling the enemy and, most dangerously of all, each other.
422 pages.

H.M.S. SURPRISE

Jack Aubrey is back in England and bankrupt. His only escape is to board H.M.S. Surprise as part of a naval entourage accompanying the king’s ambassador to the East Indies. Braving storms and predatory French squadrons, Aubrey and Maturin eventually fight their way to India where they encounter a host of new threats and uncertainties. Set within this new exotic panorama, H.M.S. Surprise balances moments of high drama with compelling depictions of human courage. The nuances of life in Nelson’s navy have never been more accurately evoked.
326 pages.

THE MAURITIUS COMMAND

Aubrey, cast ashore and suffocated by a landlubber’s life, joins Maturin on a mission to take the French-occupied islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. Temporarily assuming a commander’s post, Aubrey must also face down two of his own captains – one a pleasure-seeking dilettante, the other a fierce disciplinarian liable to provoke mutiny. Set during the Indian Ocean campaign of 1810, The Mauritius Command presents a palpable image of shipboard life, here dominated by the roar of cannon fire, the panic of injured seamen and the sight of devastated ships sinking into blood-red seas.
299 pages.

Aubrey and Maturin: The Bond of Friendship

The partnership between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin is at the heart of Patrick O’Brian’s masterful series. Beyond the beautifully textured period setting and the thrilling skirmishes and naval battles (many based on real events), the popularity of the novels stems from these two engaging, intriguing protagonists, with Aubrey’s passionate nature providing a marvellous foil for Maturin’s more enigmatic character. Two centuries may separate us from them, but O’Brian creates an utterly compelling portrait of two men and a world at war.