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Title details for The Commodore by Patrick O'Brian - Available

The Commodore

#17 in series

by Patrick O'Brian
Patrick Tull
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
For years, critics have hailed Patrick O'Brian's seafaring adventure series as "the best historical novels ever written"
(New York Times). With elegant language, eccentric characters, and authentic period atmosphere, the series transports
you to the high seas of the Napoleonic era.
After a dangerous tour of duty in the Great South Sea, Jack and Stephen return to their families in England. For
Jack, the homecoming is joyful, but for Stephen, it is heartbreaking. His wife, Diana, has left for parts unknown, and
his young daughter has all the symptoms of autism. To escape these painful circumstances, Stephen joins Jack on a
bizarre decoy mission to the lagoons of the Gulf of Guinea. There surprises lurk in various guises: risky confrontations
with slave traders, secret battle plans for a French invasion, and, possibly, word of Diana's whereabouts.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Aubrey & Maturin

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 1, 2012

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781464047503
      • File size: 341314 KB
      • Duration: 11:51:04

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 17, 1995
      Having spent 16 previous volumes so wonderfully delineating his pair of 18th-century heroes, Captain Jack Aubrey and physician/secret agent Stephen Maturin, and the world in which they live, O'Brian apparently feels that series fans will be delighted to share any aspect of their lives. He's probably right. In this 17th seagoing adventure (after The Wine-Dark Sea), O'Brian successfully manages the trick of devoting much of the book to matters more domestic than naval. Stephen's words to Jack's wife, Sophie, hardly smell of gunpowder and brine: "`...that was a sumptuous feast you gave us.... I returned to the venison pasty not once but three times.'" Jack is greeted with an unexpected promotion to full Commodore when he arrives back in England. Meanwhile, Stephen finds that his wife, Diane, has run away because of her guilt over the apparent autism of their young daughter, whom Stephen meets for the first time, and with whom he is painfully unable to communicate. When next they head out to sea, both men depart under clouds: a jealousy-induced disagreement with Sophie weighs on Jack's mind, while plotting by Stephen's enemies has put his fortune and friends in jeopardy. Re-engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the new Commodore takes his motley and often fractious squadron on a foray to disrupt slave traders in the Gulf of Guinea and then to the seas off Ireland to engage the French. As always, O'Brian tells his tale with great historical and nautical accuracy. Those who have sailed these seas before will happily go along on this latest voyage.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In this installment of the popular series of nautical adventures, Jack Aubrey becomes commodore and tracks down slave traders. The novel is laced with fascinating sea lore and wisdom. This program has the talented British reader it needs. Roberts is a master at capturing the dialects of the sailors, who come from different social classes and corners of the British empire. He skillfully switches characters and conveys the nuances of the dialogue. P.B.J. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 15, 1996
      This 17th installment in O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series of historical naval tales spent two weeks on PW's bestseller list.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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