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Master and Commander
Master and Commander is a nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, on which O'Brian continued working until his death in 2000.
The novel is set at the turn of the 19th century. It focuses on two characters: the young Jack Aubrey, a Royal Navy lieutenant who has just been promoted to the rank of Master and Commander, effectively a captain, and Stephen Maturin, a destitute physician and naturalist whom Aubrey appoints as his naval surgeon. They sail in HM sloop-of-war Sophie with first lieutenant James Dillon, a wealthy and aristocratic Irishman. The naval action in the Mediterranean is closely based on the real-life exploits of Lord Cochrane, including a battle modelled after Cochrane's spectacular victory in the brig HMS Speedy over the vastly superior Spanish frigate El Gamo.
Master and Commander met with mixed reviews on its first publication. Although UK sales were respectable enough for O'Brian to continue with the series, it was not initially a success in the US. In Britain and Ireland, however, voices of praise gradually became dominant. The novel has been lauded for having "a brilliant sense of period," and for O'Brian's "easy command of the philosophical, political, sensual and social temper of the times [that] flavors a rich entertainment," putting the reader into the times in every aspect, from exceptional detail on the practices of the Royal Navy on sailing ships to the states of science, medicine, and society during the Napoleonic era.
In 1990, the US publisher W. W. Norton & Company re-issued the book and its sequels, which was an almost immediate success and drew O'Brian a new and large readership. O'Brian's biographer has placed the novel at the start of what he called the author's magnum opus, a series that has become perhaps the best-loved book series of the 20th century.
The novel opens on 18 April 1800 and covers the period until mid 1801, the action being portrayed within the historical setting of War of the Second Coalition, one phase in Britain’s long and continuing war against the French following Nelson's victories in the Mediterranean, including the British victory at the 1798 Battle of the Nile. Events in the novel also largely take place in the Mediterranean, with the French, British, and Spanish navies attempting to capture and disrupt the merchant shipping of their enemies.
A significant subplot of the novel concerns the divided loyalties of two Irishmen, Dillon and Maturin, following their involvement in the unsuccessful Irish Rebellion of 1798. Ireland was then under the domination of the Protestant Ascendancy, and political dissent in the country had been increasing for some time. Irish Protestants bemoaned the lack of an effective political voice and the fact that much of the best agricultural land was held by absentee landlords, while Irish Catholics, who formed the majority of the population, were excluded from political participation and respectable professions. The United Irishmen was formed in the late 18th century to tackle these grievances, leading ultimately to rebellion. In the rebellion's aftermath many disaffected Irishmen (such as Maturin in the novel) had left the island to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
The novel opens in April 1800. Jack Aubrey, a shipless lieutenant wasting away in the Royal Navy port of Mahon in Minorca, meets Stephen Maturin, a destitute Irish-Catalan physician and natural philosopher, at a concert at the Governor's Mansion. During the performance, Maturin elbows Aubrey who is beating the measure "half a beat ahead". The men, both at personal low points, treat the matter as one of honour; they exchange names and anticipate a duel.
Later that evening, Aubrey learns that he has been promoted to the rank of commander and has been given command of the 14-gun sloop-of-war HMS Sophie. Meeting Maturin in the street the next day, Aubrey's joy overcomes his animosity and he invites Maturin to dine. The men discover a shared love of music, Aubrey playing the violin and Maturin the cello. On learning Maturin's profession, Aubrey asks him to join his ship. Although as a physician Maturin's expertise goes far beyond that normally expected of a naval surgeon, he agrees.
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Master and Commander
Master and Commander is a nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in the era of the Napoleonic Wars, on which O'Brian continued working until his death in 2000.
The novel is set at the turn of the 19th century. It focuses on two characters: the young Jack Aubrey, a Royal Navy lieutenant who has just been promoted to the rank of Master and Commander, effectively a captain, and Stephen Maturin, a destitute physician and naturalist whom Aubrey appoints as his naval surgeon. They sail in HM sloop-of-war Sophie with first lieutenant James Dillon, a wealthy and aristocratic Irishman. The naval action in the Mediterranean is closely based on the real-life exploits of Lord Cochrane, including a battle modelled after Cochrane's spectacular victory in the brig HMS Speedy over the vastly superior Spanish frigate El Gamo.
Master and Commander met with mixed reviews on its first publication. Although UK sales were respectable enough for O'Brian to continue with the series, it was not initially a success in the US. In Britain and Ireland, however, voices of praise gradually became dominant. The novel has been lauded for having "a brilliant sense of period," and for O'Brian's "easy command of the philosophical, political, sensual and social temper of the times [that] flavors a rich entertainment," putting the reader into the times in every aspect, from exceptional detail on the practices of the Royal Navy on sailing ships to the states of science, medicine, and society during the Napoleonic era.
In 1990, the US publisher W. W. Norton & Company re-issued the book and its sequels, which was an almost immediate success and drew O'Brian a new and large readership. O'Brian's biographer has placed the novel at the start of what he called the author's magnum opus, a series that has become perhaps the best-loved book series of the 20th century.
The novel opens on 18 April 1800 and covers the period until mid 1801, the action being portrayed within the historical setting of War of the Second Coalition, one phase in Britain’s long and continuing war against the French following Nelson's victories in the Mediterranean, including the British victory at the 1798 Battle of the Nile. Events in the novel also largely take place in the Mediterranean, with the French, British, and Spanish navies attempting to capture and disrupt the merchant shipping of their enemies.
A significant subplot of the novel concerns the divided loyalties of two Irishmen, Dillon and Maturin, following their involvement in the unsuccessful Irish Rebellion of 1798. Ireland was then under the domination of the Protestant Ascendancy, and political dissent in the country had been increasing for some time. Irish Protestants bemoaned the lack of an effective political voice and the fact that much of the best agricultural land was held by absentee landlords, while Irish Catholics, who formed the majority of the population, were excluded from political participation and respectable professions. The United Irishmen was formed in the late 18th century to tackle these grievances, leading ultimately to rebellion. In the rebellion's aftermath many disaffected Irishmen (such as Maturin in the novel) had left the island to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
The novel opens in April 1800. Jack Aubrey, a shipless lieutenant wasting away in the Royal Navy port of Mahon in Minorca, meets Stephen Maturin, a destitute Irish-Catalan physician and natural philosopher, at a concert at the Governor's Mansion. During the performance, Maturin elbows Aubrey who is beating the measure "half a beat ahead". The men, both at personal low points, treat the matter as one of honour; they exchange names and anticipate a duel.
Later that evening, Aubrey learns that he has been promoted to the rank of commander and has been given command of the 14-gun sloop-of-war HMS Sophie. Meeting Maturin in the street the next day, Aubrey's joy overcomes his animosity and he invites Maturin to dine. The men discover a shared love of music, Aubrey playing the violin and Maturin the cello. On learning Maturin's profession, Aubrey asks him to join his ship. Although as a physician Maturin's expertise goes far beyond that normally expected of a naval surgeon, he agrees.