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Patrick O'Brian: A Life Revealed
by Dean King

Patrick O'Brian: A Life Revealed Cover

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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The untold life story of a novelist whose greatest fictional creation was his own identity.

In a 1998 article in New York magazine, Dean King offered readers a small sampling of the secret history of Patrick O'Brian, the creator of the bestselling series of Aubrey-Maturin novels. O'Brian has always guarded the secrets of his personal history with a zealousness that has bordered on the obsessive. And for years his fanatical readers have speculated on the true story and spun myths about his past based on the lives of his characters.

Dean King at last unveils the story of Richard Patrick Russ, a writer and intellectual who emerged from the Second World War as Patrick O'Brian, a persona created in his own imagination and later refined by decades of rumor and speculation. What motivated this radical change of identity? Was it connected to O'Brian's service during the war, or the messy divorce from his first wife? Or was it the inexplicable act of an eccentric genius?King has crisscrossed Europe to speak to long-lost relatives, friends, and colleagues of his famously reclusive subject and has fashioned this wealth of information into a dramatic narrative that will appeal to an audience far wider than O'Brian's already dedicated fans.

Review:

"Given his subject's passion for self-concealment, Dean king has performed a prodigy of detective research in tracking down the details of Patrick O'Brian's real life. Much more to the point, however, Mr. King has painted a fascinating, compassionate, honest portrait of a complex and difficult man who was also a consummate writer. The Aubrey-Maturin odyssey seems likely to stand among the major achievements of twentieth-century fiction, and Mr. King now makes it possible for readers to properly connect the work and its author."(Wolcott Gibbs, Jr., Patrick O'Brian's First U.S. Editor)

Review:

"Like many admirers of Patrick O'Brian, I've always wondered about the man behind that remarkable shelf of books--one of the unexpected peaks of modern fiction. Dean King has done a magnificent job here, proving himself an able sleuth, putting real flesh on this immensely gifted, complex--difficult, even--storyteller. This absorbing biography provides all the details one could hope for, and more." (Jay Parini, Author of John Steinbeck: A Biography and Robert Frost: A Life)

Review:

"My wife, Iris Murdoch, and I fell in love with Master and Commander and Post Captain as soon as we read them. (This was a rare event for Iris, a famous novelist who hardly ever read modern novels. But she was bewitched by O'Brian.) Dean King's biography reveals in fascinating detail that the private man behind the novels was no less of a magician than the author who created them. This is a truly remarkable book which uncovers the secrets of a professionally secretive man." (John Bayley)
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About the Author

Dean King is well established as an authority on nautical literature and history and on Patrick O'Brian. His previous eight books include A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion to Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales, Harbors and High Seas, and Every Man Will Do His Duty. King also serves as the editor of the Heart of Oak Sea Classics series. His journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Esquire, Travel & Leisure, and many other publications. He lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and four daughters.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
ericgant, June 30, 2007 (view all comments by ericgant)
An extensive biography of the Author of the Aubrey Maturin series of books that The New York Times Book Review called the greatest historical novels ever written. Patrick O?Brian was a very private man and few details of his background were available while he was living. Dean King is a good choice of biographers of O?Brian having written several companion works to the long series of O?Brian. In an in depth review of the authors early life and experiences he provides much insight into the source of the characters of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. If you have read the Aubrey Maturin works with pleasure, you will find this to be an excellent addition to your library.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780805059762
Subtitle:
A Life
Author:
King, Dean
Author:
KING, DEAN
Publisher:
Henry Holt and Co.
Location:
New York :
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Novelists, English
Subject:
Sea stories
Subject:
O'brian, patrick, 1914-
Subject:
O'brian, patrick, 1914-1999
Edition Number:
1st Holt ed.
Edition Description:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Series Volume:
1
Publication Date:
20000315
Binding:
HC
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
488
Dimensions:
9.58x6.46x1.35 in. 1.65 lbs.
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