The Letter of Marque - Softcover

O'Brian, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006499279 ISBN 13: 9780006499275

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Canada, Limited, 1997

Synopsis

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their beginning, with Master and Commander, these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback with smart new livery. This is the twelfth book in the series. Jack Aubrey is a naval officer, a post-captain of experience and capacity. When The Letter of Marque opens he has been struck off the Navy List for a crime he has not committed. With Aubrey is his friend and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also an unofficial British intelligence agent. Maturin has bought for Aubrey his old ship the Surprise, so that the misery of ejection from the service can be palliated by the command of what Aubrey calls a 'private man-of-war' -- a letter of marque, a privateer. Together they sail on a voyage which, if successful, might restore Aubrey to the rank, and the raison d'etre, whose loss he so much regrets. Around these simple, ostensibly familar elements Patrick O'Brian has written a novel of great narrative power, exploring his extraordinary world once more, in a tale full of human feeling and rarely matched in its drama.

About this title

Review:

When Jack Aubrey is unfairly deprived of his commission in the Royal Navy, Stephen Maturin comes to the rescue, purchasing the captain's former ship and outfitting it as a privateer, to be commanded by...Jack Aubrey. Soon the Surprise is off to sea, on a mission that Aubrey hopes will redeem his good name. The author's grasp of period detail is astonishing as ever--and so is his gift for pure entertainment.

From the Inside Flap:

3 cassettes/ Approx. 5 hours
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The 12th installment in the Aubrey/ Maturin series.

The time is the early 1800s, and the British Navy stands as the only bulwark against the militant fanaticism of Napoleonic France.  Jack Aubrey, a brilliant and experienced officer, has been struck off the list of post-captains for a crime his has not committed.  His old friend Stephen Maturin, usually acting as the ship's surgeon to cover his activities on behalf of British intelligence, has bought for Aubrey his old ship The Surprise to command as a privateer.  Together they sail on a desperate mission against the French which, if successful, may redeem Aubrey from the private hell of his disgrace.

From these familiar Patrick O'Brian has created a tale of great narrative power that rivals C.S. Forester for suspense, and surpasses him in its perception of character.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Canada, Limited
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0006499279
• ISBN 13: 9780006499275
• Binding: Paperback