A timeless tale
The Aubrey/Maturin series is composed of 20 excellent novels plus an unfinished novel (Patrick O’Brian sadly passed away in 2000). The novels tell the tale of Jack Aubrey, a dashing officer in the Queen’s Navy, and Stephen Maturin, a physician, natural philosopher and spy for the British Government. The stories, set in the 18th Century during the Napoleonic wars, follow the two companions in the highs and lows of their respective careers and love life as they fight the evil of Napoleon’s expanding Empire.
Part of O’Brian’s genius was in creating complex yet extremely characterized people, thus creating something akin to an intense literary experience populated by hilarious cartoon characters. (At least, that’s how I enjoy them.)
The friendship between (Post) Captain Jack Aubrey and his surgeon, Stephen Maturin, is an important part in the novels. In fact, we could say that the novels is the chronicle of their friendship more that anything else.
As in the novels, the use of naval jargon and customs is expansive and unapologetic. I like to think of it as something in the line of the technical dialogs in such great TV series as Star Trek or ER. Having people yell instructions in highly technical jargon, if well done, can add considerably to the realism even if at first it seems like gibberish to the average landlubber.
Book excerpt from Master and Commander, the first book of the series
The reluctant reviewer
I have been mulling this review for more than four years now (!), ever since I posted my review of the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World in 2004. These novels have had such an impact on my life and have brought me such joy that my heart and mind are bursting with opinions, quotes and insights I want to share. There is so much to tell, that I could not bring myself to pay tribute to this masterpiece with only a handful of words and pale impressions. But such relentless procrastination is a disservice in itself and I could bear the wait no longer. Hopefully, this should be enough and lay to rest my nagging conscience...
Part of my grandiose plan was to review every one of the books, in turn, as I read (or re-read) them. But my assiduity did not match my ambition and only managed to review only several of them in the end. So, here they are:
2. Post Captain
"Post Captain"
Girl trouble ahead! Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin are stuck on land at half pay because of the the peace treaty of Amiens. With prize money and time on their hands, they must now travel the treacherous waters of courtship as they become acquainted with the demure Sophie Williams and the dashing Diana Villiers. But will the shoals of Jealousy destroy the two men’s friendship and lead them to duel each other?
This episode is certainly, in its own special way, one of the most romantic of the series where the manly universe of Patrick O’Brian crosses the wake of Jane Austen’s world of balls and ladies-in-waiting. Will Sophie marry Jack or suffer the indignity of becoming an old maid? Will Diana know what is means to be in love or will she carelessly keel-haul the heart of oak of her unfortunate suitors? All in all, this is probably the episode that would be the most suitable to share with your girlfriend.
O’Brian had not yet settled on the particular rhythm (or some would say “formula”) that the series would quickly shape into in subsequent books. This means we get 100 more pages of rollicking antics and thunderous adventure than usual, such as:
- As Jack and Stephen were traveling to reach Stephen’s estate in Spain, France declares war and begins rounding up English subjects. Having been tipped off by the French captain who had captured him in "Master and Commander", Stephen is able to smuggle Jack out of the country by dressing him in a flea-bitten, smelly bear costume.
- Jack is given command of the Polychrest, a most awkward experimental ship built to house a (failed) secret weapon and whose only redeeming feature is that it can float.
- Stephen terrorizes otherwise stout men-of-war sailors by bringing a live bee hive on board.
’How many of those reptiles might there be?’ asked Jack, holding pretty much aloof. ’Oh, sixty thousand or so, I dare say.’ said Stephen carelessly.
- Jack is brought by the lee as his prize agent flees the country with all his money. Will jack manage to elude the bailiffs that are hunting him by land to bring him to the debtor’s prison?
- This is also the famed episode where Stephen utters for the first time his famous, oft-repeated dog-watch pun:
’(...) these two short watches – why are they called dog watches?’ (...) ’Why,’ said Stephen, it is because they are curtailed, of course.’
8. The Ionian Mission
"The Ionian Mission"
Jack Aubrey is dispatched to the Mediterranean sea to join reinforce the squadron blockading Toulon.
Life in a squadron, where Jack and Stephen are stuck for months on end waiting for the French to engage in combat, is not as thrilling as running around the world in quest of glory and fortune. However, silly capers manage to keep things lively between actions, such as Jack’s “lucky” purchase of a substantial stock of colorful gunpowder from a fireworks artificer and the sudden appearance of thousands of exhausted migrating quails on the deck of the ship during the weekly ceremonial of muster. We also get to witness a memorable piece of nerve-wracking, all-holds-barred, no-action with a French frigate in a neutral port, as engagement with the enemy at the time was to be prevented at all costs.
Here follows an excerpt of the book, as an example of Jack Aubrey’s poor wit, Stephen Maturin’s ill temper and O’Brian’s delight in outrageous erudition:
(Stephen was explaining to Jack the difference between himself, a natural philosopher, and Professor Graham, a passenger, who happens to be a moral philosopher.)
’So I suppose,’ (Jack) said, smiling so broadly that his blue eyes were not more than twinkling slits in his red face, ’that you and Sir Humphrey could be described as immoral philosophers?’‘Sure there may be some poor, thin barren minds that would catch at such a paltry clench,’ said Stephen. ’Pothouse wits that might, if their beery genius soared so high, also call Professor Graham an unnatural philosopher.’Capitain Aubrey heaved silently for a while - few men relished their own wit more than Jack - and then, smiling still, he said ‘Well, at all events, I hope he is good company. I can imagine an unnatural and an immoral philosopher arguing the toss for hours, to the admiration of all hands, ha, ha, ha.’
14. The Nutmeg of Consolation
"The Nutmeg of Consolation"
The Diane, Jack’s latest command, is still shipwrecked on an uncharted rock in the South China Sea from the terrible typhoon they suffered in "The Thirteen Gun Salute". Jack and his marooned crew must survive hunger, fearless Dyaks pirates and the unexpected and most painful sting of the fabled platypus.
When they are finally rescued, Jack is given the command of a recently dredged-up Dutchman ship. Jack names it "The Nutmeg of Consolation" from the lengthy title of the Sultan of Pulo Prabang. They must rendez-vous with the Surprise, Jack’s usual command, near New South Wales, Australia, to continue their secret mission and try to catch the Cornélie, a French frigate that should cross their path.
While watering at an isolated island, they rescue two young indigenous girls from a village decimated from the smallpox. These girls, although homely and apparently none too bright, prove themselves very endearing and adaptable. They quickly adopted the seaman’s way of life (and his rough language) like fishes in water. Much fun and mayhem ensues as Jack tries to ship them to an orphanage in Sydney.
’Another misery of human life,’ remarked Stephen to the morning darkness, ’is having a contubernal that snores like ten.’’I was not snoring,’ said Jack. ’I was wide awake. What is a contubernal?’’You are a contubernal.’
17. The Commodore
"The Commodore"
Jack is promoted - temporarily - to the exalted status of commodore as he is given command of a squadron with orders to disrupt the north-African slave trade while in fact being a secret mission to foil a French “liberation” of Ireland.
We get to meet Brigid, Maturin’s apparently "retarded" daughter, abandoned to the care of Clarissa Oakes by Diana Villier, her grief and shame-stricken mother. Appearances of impropriety and an unfortunate incident involving a red silk dress are also cause of a lot of misguided jealousy between Jack and Sophie.
Also, in more naval settings, we get to see the unfortunate consequences of having a ship under the command of a sodomite lacking discretion. (I should note here that O’Brian’s depiction of homosexuality in his novels is sympathetic but doesn’t prevent his gay characters from also suffering from deep flaws of some kind, like all his other colourful characters.)
18. The Yellow Admiral
"The Yellow Admiral"
With rumours of the Napoleonic war coming to an end, Jack Aubrey wonders if he will ever reach his ultimate goal of hoisting his own flag as an admiral of the blue or if he will have to suffer the humiliation of being given given an admiral’s title without command of any ships - namely being left to command the infamous, and non-existent, "yellow" fleet, thus becoming a disgraced yellow admiral. In the meantime, Jack is assigned to the Brest blockade under the eye of a distinctively unappreciative and resentful captain of the fleet, wondering how he could possibly distinguish himself in such a routine mission.
Other highlights: Jack’s relationship with his wife Sophie is threatened by a past mistake resurfaced trough his mother in law’s odious meddling and Stephen hatches a plan to rescue his friend’s career with a convoluted plan involving hydrology and the independence of Chile.
Prequels of a sort
"The Golden Ocean"
"The Unknown Shore"
Fans of the series would also be well advised to read The Golden Ocean and The Unknown Shore , two "young readers" books written by O’Brian decades before Master and Commander but yet strangely foreshadowing his magnum opus by its themes, wits and characters.
