Patrick O'Brian

Patrick OÂ’BrianÂ’'s twenty novels about dashing 19th-century British naval hero Jack Aubrey, and his tortured, intellectual best friend Stephen Maturin, combined an ear for language, an eye for imagery, a nose for authentic historical fact, a feel for the complex hearts and motives of human beings, and a taste for gripping drama and thrilling adventure. So as you read this series that spanned thirty years of creativity (1969-99), and which nevertheless seems like one uninterrupted tale, you find yourself experiencing a feast for all the senses. Behold, the vivid picture of a lithe frigate sailing on a bowline. Hearken to the beautiful, intimate music shared by a shipÂ’s captain and its surgeon. Feel the sway of the deck and the roar of guns shaking your universe. Smell the salt spray, the smoke of battle. Taste the delights of humor, romance, tragedy, triumph, suspense, intrigue, and the simple pleasures of a daily routine that is now completely extinct.

It has been very satisfying to follow Jack Aubrey from his first command in Master and Commander, through the tenth book that has already become a film (The Far Side of the World), and beyond. At this writing I confess that I am only on the twelfth book of the twenty. But what books! These are books that I cannot stop reading until I get to the last page. And the rumor that OÂ’Brian was working on a twenty-first part of the series when he died will probably gripe my heart as I turn the last page of the last book. I have spoken highly of C.S. ForesterÂ’s Horatio Hornblower series; but I think OÂ’BrianÂ’s work is even better.

OÂ’Brian also wrote a collection called The Rendezvous and Other Stories; biographies of Picasso and Joseph Banks (the English naturalist who sailed with Captain Cook); a novel titled Testimonies, and two early works of naval fiction which are currently in print, The Golden Ocean and The Unknown Shore.

Before I leave off, I would like to plug a couple of very helpful “support” books. First, I recently came into possession of A Sea of Words by Dean King et al, Third Edition, published by Owl Books in 2000 – the year of Patrick O’Brian’s death. It is a very simple, clear, well-written “lexicon and companion to the complete seafaring tales of Patrick O’Brian.” In other words, it is a dictionary, explaining not only nautical terms but also foreign phrases, biblical and literary references, and historical figures mentioned in the Aubrey-Maturin series. Why buy it? Well, I bought it because I have enjoyed O’Brian’s books very much, even without being able to guess what “bitts” and “hances” are, to say nothing of the difference between shrouds and sheets. In the first hour that I spent with this book, I learned the solution to dozens of puzzles that had been lingering in the back of my mind, mostly ignored but subtracting just a bit from my overall enjoyment of O’Brian’s magnificent novels. So that’s one recommendation.

Second, I was also delighted to find Patrick O’Brian’s Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey’s World, a large-format “coffee-table book” with color pictures, edited by Richard O’Neill. It includes really helpful diagrams of the parts of a ship, paintings from the period (say, late 1700s and early 1800s) in which Jack Aubrey would have lived, a thorough explanation of what Aubrey’s political, naval, and cultural world was like, a glossary of naval terms, and a guide to the characters in O’Brian’s novels. By now I have probably guessed enough from reading the “canon” that I don’t really need this book, but I enjoy having it much as we Harry Potter fans enjoy visiting Mugglenet. O’Neill & co. make a case for calling O’Brian’s landmark series the “Aubreyiad,” a reference to Homer’s Iliad and a measure of how popular and respected these books are becoming. At another point, O’Neill compares O’Brian’s writerly qualities to those of Jane Austen. If you haven’t read any of the Aubreyiad, I hope these comparisons will intrigue you. And if the books are too hard to read at first, do look into O’Neill’s and King’s helpful companion works.

Robbie Fischer
USA

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