Two guys meet at a concert and argue about the music. They meet
again and discover a common interest in playing music. One is a captain
in the English navy and the other a doctor who does a bit of spying for
the Crown. They develop a quick friendship and the captain invites
the surgeon to join him on the H.M.S. Sophie, thus beginning one of the
great jewels of 20th century writing in Master and Commander, the
first of 20 volumes in this series by Patrick O'Brian. The historical setting
is the Napoleonic Wars.
Captain Jack Aubrey is in the tradition of the Milos Gloriosis except there is real bravery behind the bravado. He laughs at his own jokes and weak puns and is no stranger to the pleasures afforded a young man with discretionary income in his pocket. He has also been at sea since he was 12 years old and could perform any task on board ship if necessary, as sometimes happens in the heat of battle when somebody gets killed or falls overboard. He is not given to deep philosophical musings but he lives by his own code of honor. The captain's authority comes from obeying himself and the men love him dearly for it. And he can swim and rescue a man overboard, unusual for a sailor of that time to swim [one of a thousand things you'll learn about life at the beginning of the 19th century]. He's often broke, one step ahead of creditors and needs a successful cruise to pay off his debts. A successful captain of that time destroyed or captured enemy vessels and stole their treasures. He seems to us little better than a pirate [he's offended if you suggest it], except he's doing it for England and the percentage profits to himself and crew.
Dr. Stephen Maturin is reserved, half-Irish and half-Castilian. He spies for his majesty, unbeknownst to Jack, but when he takes off for a month for spy business in Spain in Post Captain, the second volume in the series, and comes back with a deep tan saying he spent the time in Ireland, you wonder if his friends know he's lying but have the decency not to mention it. He also is handy with the pistol as we learn in duels of honor in Post and H.M.S. Surprise. His skill at surgery is amazing and you'll wince at some of the parts he sews back together, as gratefully decribed by the repaired parties. His intellectualism is superior to his honor as you see him use his spying talents to gain advantage over romantic rivals. He's not the great lover Jack is and a Lord Joseph even expresses relief when he hears about Maturin's involvement with a woman, having been "worried about him" in Master and Commander.
Police procedurals have been a staple of best seller lists for years, showing the tiny details that go into cracking a case. [Jimmy Breslin once said it's unusual to crack a case through legwork, it's mostly one guy ratting out another.] This series has lengthy passages describing quotidian naval procedures, what men at sea do hour after hour, day after day, to keep a ship in shape. It all leads up to the battle scenes, where it would probably help to keep some checkers at your side to keep the ships and their maneuvers in focus.
You'll be amazed how many terms we use today come from that venue and era such as to give some leeway or to be three sheets to the wind. Dr. Maturin is a land lubber when the series begins so he is our agent for learning much of the lingo at first. After he gets his sea legs O'Brian cleverly works in explanations of nautical terms by ship mates so you don't have to worry about being mystified by the terminology.
Jack is constantly getting screwed by the admirals out of his just prizes for himself and the crew. In one case it could be because Jack has cuckolded the old boy and may do so yet again. In other cases it might be just for spite. The admirals are portrayed in a tradition that lasts to this day of men who get their positions by influence rather than merit. Yet, when offered a chance in Post Commander to command a privateer and get out of the navy, he turns it down. He is an Englishman and his duty is to fight the King's wars.
Maturin and Jack also compete for the ladies but their friendship trumps these skirmishes. Friendship: there's a great scene in Post Captain where Jack is describing to Maturin the sermon he is thinking of preaching to the men on Sunday. On ships with no chaplain on board, the captain sometimes assumed the duties and Jack tells Stephen he's looking for a Bible to prepare the sermon, telling Stephen there's quite a few useful things in that book that can help him in his command of the crew. Maturin laughs uproariously at his friend's use of the Bible as a naval disciplinary manual and Jack realizes that in all the time he's known him, he's never seen him laugh like that.
Patrick O'Brian died this year [2000]. I read an appreciation of him by David Mamet in the New York Times. His wife told him he should contact O'Brian to tell him how much he loved the series. O'Brian died before he got the chance. His piece led me to exploring this gifted writer. He also wrote a well-received biography of Picasso and translations of stuff I'll probably never get up to reading. Read the first book in the series, Master and Commander, and you'll be hooked too on the Aubrey/Maturin series.
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