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31st out of 105 books
—
77 voters
The Commodore (Aubrey & Maturin #17)
Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances. For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situa...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
April 17th 1995
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 1994)
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I abandoned Tristram Shandy's light-hearted social commentary for a story with guts. Patrick O'Brian never fails to deliver.*
Jack Aubrey has his first fleet command. Part of the plot revolves around a contrast among the leadership styles of three ships' captains:
1. flog your people until they achieve your standard of perfection;
2. have sex with your favorites;
3. train your team so that they master a rewarding skill (in this case, sailing the ship and working its guns so as to maximize the potent...more
Jack Aubrey has his first fleet command. Part of the plot revolves around a contrast among the leadership styles of three ships' captains:
1. flog your people until they achieve your standard of perfection;
2. have sex with your favorites;
3. train your team so that they master a rewarding skill (in this case, sailing the ship and working its guns so as to maximize the potent...more
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Jack and Stephen return home after a voyage around the world and an absence of years. Stephen meets his young daughter for the first time but does not find the picture of domestic happiness that he wished for. Jack and Sophie are reunited but soon have a falling out over a couple of painful misunderstandings.
They return to sea, Jack having been given command of a squadron and sent publicly to harass slavers off the coast of Africa and privately to intercept a French invasion force. Already distu...more
They return to sea, Jack having been given command of a squadron and sent publicly to harass slavers off the coast of Africa and privately to intercept a French invasion force. Already distu...more
The Commodore is book seventeen in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, and if you’ve already read the first sixteen books you certainly won’t be disappointed with this one. If the series is new to you, however, by all means start with book one, Master and Commander. Either way you have a treat in store for you.
Jack and Stephen return from a long voyage and face various domestic difficulties. Stephen, for instance, finally meets his daughter, Brigid, who was born while he was away at sea. S...more
Jack and Stephen return from a long voyage and face various domestic difficulties. Stephen, for instance, finally meets his daughter, Brigid, who was born while he was away at sea. S...more
Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances. For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, her house being looked after by the widowed Clarissa Oakes.
Much of The Commodore takes place on land,...more
Much of The Commodore takes place on land,...more
Another book set mostly at sea, which I enjoy. This book marks Aubrey's move to a ship of the line, acting as a Commodore of a fleet, very much coming of age as a captain, nearing his advancement as an admiral. He and Stephen are feeling their age a bit, and maturing overall. Stephen also meets his daughter, who seems to be on the autism spectrum, and she is interestingly written. There is also a bit on the dangers of homosexuality in a ship, not out of moral reasons, but more in having a captai...more
Yet another wonderful chapter in the lives of Aubrey and Maturin, friends who are in many ways tied to each other more intimately--and certainly more faithfully--than to their wives. I particularly enjoyed the subtlety and delicacy with which this volume explored that most enviable friendship through the complimentary lenses of their respective domestic joys and challenges, on the one hand, and their professional missions and passionate longings, on the other. Along the way O'Brian treats us to...more
Stephen and Jack, after adventuring around the world and adding to their wealth of money and experience, return to England to find Stephen's wife Diana gone and Jack named Commodore of a squadron gazetted to the coast of Africa to put a damper on the slave trade and thence to Ireland to crush a French invasion. Jack has won the fast sloop Ringle gambling with his best friend and the Ringle comes in handy for Stephen is in danger from a French mole highly placed in the royal family. He must retri...more
It's been a while (The Mauritius Command, if memory serves) since we've gotten to see Aubrey in the company of other commanders and profit by noting the differences. O'Brian is up to some of his usual tricks in having the different captains stand as symbols of what Jack might have become had he not possessed his particular blend of discipline and camaraderie. Duff, a pederast who sleeps with his favorites, is perhaps the most extreme example of a captain rewarding his underlings to the degree th...more
One of the pleasures of reading a series this long, covering this many years, is that as the characters grow older, so do we. Stephen loses his hair. Jack is constantly battling his weight. They both succumb to dangerous wounds and illnesses. They are jealous over their wives' behavior. They are thoroughly recognizable people, living in the world of the British navy during the Napoleonic wars.
It is time for the men to return home to their families. Sophie is a paragon of wisdom, but shows her te...more
It is time for the men to return home to their families. Sophie is a paragon of wisdom, but shows her te...more
The Commodore by Jan de HartogMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A great book for those of us that enjoy sea stories. The fact that the hero was my age 70 and how he handled the stresses of sailing a ocean going tug with a fatal design flaw while pulling enormous loads with a ship maned by Chinese sailors.
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This is #17th book in the Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin series. Boy I enjoy these characters! (I happened to hear an old interview with the author. EVERY battle in the series was an accurate accounting from the British Navel records. Different vessels, of course, but HISTORY nevertheless. Amazing!)
In this book, after a long – multi-year – voyage, Jack had risen for a mire Master and Commander to Commodore! Yet, here at home, each must now address family matter. (Imagine, in today’s world, your...more
In this book, after a long – multi-year – voyage, Jack had risen for a mire Master and Commander to Commodore! Yet, here at home, each must now address family matter. (Imagine, in today’s world, your...more
Repeated from review of Book 1
That Patrick O'Brian chose to place his characters on the sea in the not so distant past just raised the hurdle I had to leap to get to know this wonderful author.
I had never been enamored with sea stories, didn't much care for European history, and yet was wonderfully taken with this series. The sea is a major character, but history is not greatly illuminated, almost a backdrop to the specific circumstance the characters find themselves in. Which perhaps reflects t...more
That Patrick O'Brian chose to place his characters on the sea in the not so distant past just raised the hurdle I had to leap to get to know this wonderful author.
I had never been enamored with sea stories, didn't much care for European history, and yet was wonderfully taken with this series. The sea is a major character, but history is not greatly illuminated, almost a backdrop to the specific circumstance the characters find themselves in. Which perhaps reflects t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is the seventeenth of twenty-one books in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. I read the first. Master and Commander after researching life aboard warships in the Nineteenth Century. The series was touted as the most accurate ever written. O'Brian's writing and Simon Vance's gift as a narrator combine to make the series truly remarkable. I read (or rather listened to the recorded books) the series, and then immediately started again on book one. O'Brian's humor is truly wicked and grea...more
This is definitely one of O'Brian's more entertaining books in the Aubrey/Maturin series. Regaling us with tales of intrigue amongst the French, British, and Irish, this voyage takes us as far as the Bight of Benin before returning to the west coast of Ireland. Somewhat reminiscent of Aubrey's first voyage in the sloop Sophie, there is plenty of action, prize-taking, and a fresh tale of shipboard life. Maturin's journeys in Africa are also enjoyable, and less tedious than O'Brian makes them in s...more
Surprising in that it actually had some closure at the end! This one made me wish they stayed on land longer to resolve their terrestrial dramas, but alas, the sea always beckons. Plenty of fun naturalizing and naval action in this one, plus some examples of bad captains (often alluded to but rarely included in the action in these books), and some description of the slave trade and slave ships that were sufficiently horrifying. I'll get to my notes and vocab list eventually...
A fantastic series of books by Patrick O'Brien. A college mate of mine ((Brit)), recommended these to me - and said that he had learned a bit about business acumen, tenacity and hierarchy of the service. It all translates to modern day politics.
I've read the entire series three times through - and would highly recommend it to anyone moving their way up in world. As well, anyone looking for an adventurous read.
I've read the entire series three times through - and would highly recommend it to anyone moving their way up in world. As well, anyone looking for an adventurous read.
Yet another great book in the series. Doesn't delve into the leadership challenges as much as the Mauritius Campaign. Instead the drama between Steven Maturin and Diana Villiers continues on, with Diana abandoning their daughter to Clarissa Oaks.
A turning point for many of the themes and plot lines, yet it seems like the episode of Jack Aubrey fighting the slave trade is a way to place our hero in the right after being more or less ambivalent in prior books.
A turning point for many of the themes and plot lines, yet it seems like the episode of Jack Aubrey fighting the slave trade is a way to place our hero in the right after being more or less ambivalent in prior books.
I would be lying if I wasn't disappointed in this one.
Mostly I could have had more narrative on the battle with the French, seeing how this was the first true multi-ship command action that non-commodore Aubrey had led.
The same goes, I felt with the attack on the slave trade. With the exception of the first capture, it was all happening "While Steven slept" Which, unfortunately is starting to come off as a easy-out for the author than writing out the actual battle.
Mostly I could have had more narrative on the battle with the French, seeing how this was the first true multi-ship command action that non-commodore Aubrey had led.
The same goes, I felt with the attack on the slave trade. With the exception of the first capture, it was all happening "While Steven slept" Which, unfortunately is starting to come off as a easy-out for the author than writing out the actual battle.
Captain Jack is given command of a squadron, hence his elevation to 'Commodore' of the title and has a dual mission to damage the slave trade and to intercept a French convoy. As usual, supreme descriptions of sailing, life at sea and sea battles, but the relationship between Aubrey and Maturin continues in its complexity, as to their individual home lives and wider relationships. Absorbing, rousing stuff.
Another awesome installment in Jack and Stephen's adventures. I'm not sure whether the ending is a cliffhanger about Stephen and Diana's relationship, with all the guns hung on the wall here firing in the next book, or just O'Brian's admission that he'd really rather write about adventure and intrigue than domesticity and infidelity, but I think I'd rather read about the former than the latter, too, so it suits me fine.
If you enjoy historical fiction, adventure, great characters, and great writing then run don't walk to your library or bookstore and start reading Patrick o'brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. The level of detail will immerse you in the seagoing world of the early nineteenth century royal navy. And believe me it's a thrilling place to be.
Commodore Jack Aubrey faces the challenge of leading other captains in a 2-pronged mission, closely linked to ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin's espionage activity. At home, waters are choppy but the tide turns in due course. Interesting detail of early 19th Century social attitudes to the slave trade and slave transportation.
Please note, this 5 star rating is based on my long ago memories of this book - I may have read it greater than 12 years ago. I recall reading and really liking it, and even kept the book to read again in the future (something I only do with good, or otherwise significant books). The memories of an old man are sometimes faulty so this could really only warrant 3.5 to 4.5 stars, instead of the 5 I gave it. Once I re-read the book I will update this rating/review to more accurately reflect my thou...more
Here we have the 17th installment in this wonderful Napoleonic-era naval adventure series. I've been away from this series for over a year (and am not entirely sure why) and it has been such a delight to again immerse myself in the funny, super-smart, high-stakes world of Jack Aubrey, now a commodore of a fleet of ships, and Stephen Maturin, everyone's favorite illegitimate Irish/Catalan doctor/spy. This book is notable for Maturin meeting his daughter (I did not think I could love Maturin anymo...more
How can I rate these books other than to give them 5 stars? Choosing among them is like deciding whether I prefer chocolate or double chocolate. I love the fact that you can bird through these books and then most of the items I look up in the companion book are not found.
This book is as wonderful as all the other books in this series that I've read. I'm sorry to be drawing near the end. Jack Aubrey becomes an admiral, a rather mixed blessing since he has two captains under him who are difficult to deal with. Simon Vance does his usual great job of bringing the characters to life with his reading.
I am getting near the end of the series and it depresses me. O'Brian has written such a web in to these book that I have to ration myself. The only saving grace is that I can go through and reread the books once I am done.
The seventeenth book in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series finds Jack temporarily given the rank of commodore. His assignment is to harass slave ships from Africa and to attack a French convoy. Stephen, his ship's surgeon, meanwhile, must protect himself, his family, and his fortune from vengeful French spies. With each book in this matchless series, we get more familiar with these wonderful characters and seafaring life in the early 19th century.
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Patrick O'Brian, CBE (born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. The 20-novel series is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early...more
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“Stephen had been put to sleep in his usual room, far from children and noise, away in that corner of the house which looked down to the orchard and the bowling-green, and in spite of his long absence it was so familiar to him that when he woke at about three he made his way to the window almost as quickly as if dawn had already broken, opened it and walked out onto the balcony. The moon had set: there was barely a star to be seen. The still air was delightfully fresh with falling dew, and a late nightingale, in an indifferent voice, was uttering a routine jug-jug far down in Jack's plantations; closer at hand and more agreeable by far, nightjars churred in the orchard, two of them, or perhaps three, the sound rising and falling, intertwining so that the source could not be made out for sure. There were few birds that he preferred to nightjars, but it was not they that had brought him out of bed: he stood leaning on the balcony rail and presently Jack Aubrey, in a summer-house by the bowling-green, began again, playing very gently in the darkness, improvising wholly for himself, dreaming away on his violin with a mastery that Stephen had never heard equalled, though they had played together for years and years.
Like many other sailors Jack Aubrey had long dreamed of lying in his warm bed all night long; yet although he could now do so with a clear conscience he often rose at unChristian hours, particularly if he were moved by strong emotion, and crept from his bedroom in a watch-coat, to walk about the house or into the stables or to pace the bowling-green. Sometimes he took his fiddle with him. He was in fact a better player than Stephen, and now that he was using his precious Guarnieri rather than a robust sea-going fiddle the difference was still more evident: but the Guarnieri did not account for the whole of it, nor anything like. Jack certainly concealed his excellence when they were playing together, keeping to Stephen's mediocre level: this had become perfectly clear when Stephen's hands were at last recovered from the thumb-screws and other implements applied by French counter-intelligence officers in Minorca; but on reflexion Stephen thought it had been the case much earlier, since quite apart from his delicacy at that period, Jack hated showing away.
Now, in the warm night, there was no one to be comforted, kept in countenance, no one could scorn him for virtuosity, and he could let himself go entirely; and as the grave and subtle music wound on and on, Stephen once more contemplated on the apparent contradiction between the big, cheerful, florid sea-officer whom most people liked on sight but who would have never been described as subtle or capable of subtlety by any one of them (except perhaps his surviving opponents in battle) and the intricate, reflective music he was now creating. So utterly unlike his limited vocabulary in words, at times verging upon the inarticulate.
'My hands have now regained the moderate ability they possessed before I was captured,' observed Maturin, 'but his have gone on to a point I never thought he could reach: his hands and his mind. I am amazed. In his own way he is the secret man of the world.”
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19 people liked it
Like many other sailors Jack Aubrey had long dreamed of lying in his warm bed all night long; yet although he could now do so with a clear conscience he often rose at unChristian hours, particularly if he were moved by strong emotion, and crept from his bedroom in a watch-coat, to walk about the house or into the stables or to pace the bowling-green. Sometimes he took his fiddle with him. He was in fact a better player than Stephen, and now that he was using his precious Guarnieri rather than a robust sea-going fiddle the difference was still more evident: but the Guarnieri did not account for the whole of it, nor anything like. Jack certainly concealed his excellence when they were playing together, keeping to Stephen's mediocre level: this had become perfectly clear when Stephen's hands were at last recovered from the thumb-screws and other implements applied by French counter-intelligence officers in Minorca; but on reflexion Stephen thought it had been the case much earlier, since quite apart from his delicacy at that period, Jack hated showing away.
Now, in the warm night, there was no one to be comforted, kept in countenance, no one could scorn him for virtuosity, and he could let himself go entirely; and as the grave and subtle music wound on and on, Stephen once more contemplated on the apparent contradiction between the big, cheerful, florid sea-officer whom most people liked on sight but who would have never been described as subtle or capable of subtlety by any one of them (except perhaps his surviving opponents in battle) and the intricate, reflective music he was now creating. So utterly unlike his limited vocabulary in words, at times verging upon the inarticulate.
'My hands have now regained the moderate ability they possessed before I was captured,' observed Maturin, 'but his have gone on to a point I never thought he could reach: his hands and his mind. I am amazed. In his own way he is the secret man of the world.”
“Other people's marriages are a perpetual source of amazement.”
—
14 people liked it
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