Master and Commander

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This article is about the historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. For the 2003 film, see Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. For the naval rank, see Commander.
Master and Commander  
Cover by Geoff Hunt for Master and Commander.
Cover by Geoff Hunt for Master and Commander.
Author Patrick O'Brian
Cover artist Geoff Hunt
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series Aubrey-Maturin series
Genre(s) Historical novel
Publisher Harper Collins (UK)
Publication date 1970
Media type print (hardback & paperback) & audio book (cassette, cd)
Pages 411 pp (Hardback edition) & 352 pp (Paperback edition)
ISBN ISBN 0-393-03701-0 (Hardback edition US) & ISBN 0-00-612913-7 (Paperback edition UK)
Followed by Post Captain

Master and Commander is an historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. First published in 1970, it is first in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The story starts out on April 18, 1800, in Port Mahon, Minorca, a base of the Royal Navy at that time. A shipless lieutenant wasting away in port, Jack Aubrey, meets Stephen Maturin, a poor half-Irish and half-Catalan physician and natural philosopher, at an evening concert at the Governor’s Mansion. The two of them do not quite get along during this first encounter. A duel almost occurs when Jack Aubrey gets elbowed by Maturin to stop humming while the string quartet is playing.

Later that evening, on his way back to his living quarters, Jack Aubrey finds out that he was promoted to the rank of Commander and has been given command of the sloop Sophie. His joy overcomes his animosity towards Stephen Maturin and they quickly become good friends. The ship's surgeon having left with the previous captain, Maturin is asked by Aubrey to sign on in that post. Although Maturin is a physician, not just a mere surgeon, he agrees, since he is currently unemployed.

Also introduced into the story are Master's Mates Thomas Pullings, William Mowett, midshipman William Babbington, and James Dillon, the Sophie's first lieutenant. Dillon has a secret background as a member of the United Irishmen which crosses with Stephen's own.

Aubrey improves Sophie's sailing qualities by adding a larger yard which allows him to spread a larger mainsail. She then is sent to accompany a small convoy of merchant ships. During their journey east, the new captain, Aubrey, takes the opportunity to get to know his sailors and work them into a fighting unit. As he does this, he and the crew explain many naval matters to Maturin (and to the reader) since the doctor has never served aboard a man-of-war.

After the convoy duties, Lord Keith allows Aubrey to cruise independently, looking for French merchants. After a number of prizes are taken, they meet and defeat the Cacafuego, a Spanish frigate, losing a number of crew, including Dillon, in the bloody action and gaining the respect of other naval officers. However, Captain Harte, the commandant at Mahon, has a grudge against Aubrey, who has been having an affair with his wife. His malevolence ensures the victory brings Aubrey and his crew no official recognition, promotion, or significant prize money. On her following escort duty, Sophie is captured by a squadron of four large French warships after a pursuit and a brave but hopeless resistance. The Battle of Algeciras begins, and after a short period as prisoners of war, they are exchanged, missing the fighting. Back at Gibraltar, Aubrey must undergo a court-martial over the loss of his ship, but he is cleared of the charges.

[edit] Characters in "Master and Commander"

See also Recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series

  • Jack Aubrey – Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and appointed Commander at the start. Captain of HMS Sophie.
  • Stephen Maturin – ship's surgeon, friend to Jack and intelligence officer.
  • Harte – Captain and station Commandant
  • Molly Harte – wife to the station Commandant
  • Lord Keith (Thos Walker) – Admiral in the Mediterranean
  • Samuel Allen – erstwhile Captain in Sophie, succeeded by Aubrey
  • Mr. Baldick – Lieutenant in Sophie, ill and replaced
  • Mr. Williams – administrator in Mahon for Aubrey's prize-agent
  • David Richards – Mr. Williams relative who ships as Midshipman in Sophie
  • William Marshall – master in Sophie
  • Tom Pullings – master's mate in Sophie
  • William Mowett – master's mate in Sophie
  • Isaac Wilson – ordinary seaman in Sophie
  • Watt – bosun in Sophie
  • Lamb – carpenter
  • Ricketts – purser
  • George Day – the gunner
  • Charles Stephen Ricketts – son to the purser, rated midshipman
  • William Babbington – midshipman in Sophie
  • James Dillon – first lieutenant in Sophie
  • Alfred King – black crew member, also a mute
  • Quinn – sergeant of marines

[edit] Ships in "Master and Commander"

The British:

  • HMS Audacious - Ship of the line and flagship
  • HMS Niobe - frigate
  • HMS Pallas - frigate
  • HM Brig Sophie - Tri-sailed brig (sloop)
  • Burford -
  • HMS Généreux - 74 gun Third rate. Captured from France in 1800.
  • Tartarus - bomb-ketch

The Spanish:

  • Cacafuego - xebec-type frigate (though named after a ship from the 16th century)

[edit] Major themes

Many incidents and events in the book are directly copied from the real cruises of Lord Cochrane in his sloop HMS Speedy. Cochrane described them in detail in his Autobiography of a Seaman.

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

Maturin and Dillon, both Catholics, are revealed in the book to have been members of the Society of United Irishmen, and these activities now compromise them politically in what is the aftermath of the unsuccessful Irish Rebellion of 1798. Maturin has been a close friend of Lord Edward FitzGerald, the Irish peer who was one of the leaders of the movement. Both Maturin and Dillon keep their Catholic beliefs and their old political allegiance quiet for fear of exposure, and the continuing official hunt for conspirators in 1801, the year of the novel's setting, is illustrated when Sophie is ordered by Harte to intercept an American ship carrying two fugitive United Irishmen and capture them by force if necessary.

The capture of the Spanish xebec-frigate Cacafuego by the greatly inferior Sophie brings Aubrey and his crew great glory (although no great wealth). This episode is based on the capture of the Spanish frigate El Gamo by Thomas Cochrane commanding the sloop HMS Speedy. The exploit of setting up a decoy of a large ship at night by attaching lights to a small boat was executed by Cochrane and described in his Autobiography of a Seaman, which was used by O'Brian as source material for this novel. It was also used by the French privateer Robert Surcouf to successfully escape the British frigate HMS Sybille.

The book ends with Aubrey and Maturin witnessing the Battle of Algeciras, the first part as prisoners aboard the French ship Desaix, then after they have been paroled, from the Rock of Gibraltar.

[edit] Literary significance & criticism

"Nothing is glamourised. The press gangings, the squalor are all here....The battle scenes are tremendous...This is not secondhand Forester, but a really fine piece of writing."—Sunday Mirror.[1]

[edit] Reviews

  • Martin Levin (1969). "Master and Commander". New York Times Book Review 14 Dec. 
  • ? (1969). "Master and Commander". Kirkus Review 1 Oct. 
  • David C. Taylor (1969). "Master and Commander". Literary Journal 15 Dec. 
  • ? (1970). "Master and Commander". Sunday Mirror 18 Jan. 
  • Benedict Nightingale (1970). "Master and Commander". Observer 18 Jan. 
  • Tom Pocock (1970). "Master and Commander". Evening Standard 20 Jan. 
  • H.J. Poole (1970). "Master and Commander". Irish Press 21 Jan. 

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World takes part of its title from this novel and some themes along with several puns, but very little of its plot. In fact, no one book provides the total plot line for the movie. A significant portion comes from The Far Side of the World, with somewhat less from HMS Surprise and other books.

[edit] Release details

[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations

  • Richard O'Neill (2003). Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World. Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-1540-1. 
  • Dean King (2001). A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6615-2. 
  • Dean King (2001). Harbors and High Seas: Map Book and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6614-4. 
  • Brian Lavery (2003). Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian. Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-946-8. 
  • Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, Lisa Grossman Thomas (2000). Lobscouse and Spotted Dog: Which Is a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels. W W Norton & Co Ltd. ISBN 0-393-32094-4. 
  • David Miller (2003). The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-Pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty's Royal Navy. Running Press Book Publishers. ISBN 0-7624-1652-1. 
  • A.E. Cunningham (Editor) (1994). Patrick O'Brian: A Bibliography and Critical Appreciation. British Library Publishing Division. ISBN 0-7123-1071-1. 

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Sunday Mirror review - quoted in "Cunningham"
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