Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Set in the Royal Navy during the early 19th Century's Napoleonic Wars, O'Brian's epic, twenty-volume "masterpiece" (David Mamet, New York Times) traces the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin. Their sharp wit, heart-stopping action, and exquisitely rendered backdrop have earned millions of devoted fans worldwide as well as comparisons from C. S. Forester, to Jane Austen, to Shakespeare. In the over forty years since their initial publication in the United States, these "addictively readable" (Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago Tribune) stories have become a beloved part of the canon.
Including volumes one - Master and Commander - through three- H. M. S. Surprise - this first installment precedes the release of volumes four through twenty over the coming year. Every one of these beautifully redesigned editions are sure to be treasured by Patrick O'Brian enthusiasts and welcome generations of new readers to one of the greatest literary sagas of all time.
Synopsis
It's 1802. The Treaty of Amiens has brought an end to the hostilities between Great Britain and France. Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, naval surgeon Stephen Maturin, are enjoying the respite in the English countryside, besotted with two beautiful cousins, Sophie Williams and Diana Villiers--until Aubrey loses his fortune and they flee to France to escape his creditors. While in France, Napoleon smashes the Peace of Amiens and war begins anew. Aubrey and Maturin, now finding themselves behind enemy lines, make their way back to England. Maturin is sent to Spain on an intelligence-gathering mission and the now-solvent Aubrey assumes command of a strange warship, pursuing his quarry straight into the mouth of a French-held harbor. Amidst the rollicking adventures at sea and mishaps on land, Aubrey and Maturin's friendship is tested by their romantic entanglements with the cousins in this brilliant second installment of the epic series.