Master and Commander: Patrick O’Brian: Book 1 (Aubrey-Maturin)

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Ramage, first of a series of novels about Lord Ramage, an officer in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, written by Dudley Pope.

Stephen dutifully asks for her hand in marriage and she says……… (oh, c’mon, I’m not giving that away). Bradshaw, Peter (November 21, 2003). "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021 . Retrieved March 1, 2021. For the Algeciras Campaign O'Brian studied the dispatches of admiral Sir James Saumarez along with other contemporary reports of the battle. [20] Publication history [ edit ] Geoff Hunt cover used on reissues First US and UK publications 1969 / 70 [ edit ] Chapman, James (2007). Chapman, James; Glancy, Mark; Harper, Sue (eds.). 'This Ship is England': History, Politics and National Identity in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003). pp.55–68. doi: 10.1007/9780230206229_5. ISBN 978-0-230-20622-9. {{ cite book}}: |work= ignored ( help) a b "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021 . Retrieved January 10, 2021.Christopher Hitchens gave a mixed review: "Any cinematic adaptation of O'Brian must stand or fall by its success in representing this figure [Dr. Stephen Maturin]. On this the film doesn't even fall, let alone stand. It skips the whole project." (The film omits completely the fact that the doctor and naturalist is also a spy for England—a key plot element in the novels.) Hitchens nonetheless praised the action scenes, writing: "In one respect the action lives up to its fictional and actual inspiration. This was the age of Bligh and Cook and of voyages of discovery as well as conquest, and when HMS Surprise makes landfall in the Galapagos Islands we get a beautifully filmed sequence about how the dawn of scientific enlightenment might have felt." [34] The exploit of deceiving a ship at night by attaching lights to a decoy was executed by Cochrane and was described in his Autobiography of a Seaman. [18] A similar exploit was reported to have been used by the French privateer Joseph-Marie Potier to escape a British frigate near Quiberon Bay in January 1809. [19]

Weir, asked in 2005 if he would make a sequel, stated he thought it "most unlikely", and after internet rumors to the contrary, stated "I think that while it did well... ish at the box office, it didn't generate that monstrous, rapid income that provokes a sequel." [39] In 2007 the film was included on a list of "13 Failed Attempts To Start Film Franchises" by The A.V. Club, noting that "this surely stands as one of the most exciting opening salvos in nonexistent-series history, and the Aubrey–Maturin novels remain untapped cinematic ground." [40] Frank McNally, writing in honour of the 100th anniversary of the author's birth, reflects on the breadth of the appeal of the series of novels, for the quality of the writing and the relationships between the characters, which put them beyond the typical naval adventure, and gain interest from readers who "wouldn't touch Horatio Hornblower with a bargepole." [27] Lucy Eyre wrote to point out the appeal of the series to women readers, mentioning the nautical detail, and how it might be viewed the same as precise medical language on the television program ER. She notes that "O'Brian is never heavy-handed with his research: it's simply that the books are set in a perfectly realised world, which happens to be a ship at war." [28]In the first of the series, during a tour of the rigging, Maturin asked his tourguide if he "could not explain this maze of ropes and wood and canvas without using sea-terms" and the reply came "No, for it is by those names alone that they are known, in nearly every case". [15] Staff (August 14, 2003). "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019 . Retrieved December 19, 2014. McGregor, Tom (2003). The Making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-05865-4.

By the time I was halfway through the book there had already been a pregnancy, two suspected murders, storms and the taking of a prize. MASTER AND COMMANDER – THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. October 28, 2003. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016 . Retrieved October 1, 2015.Stephen Maturin: Irish- Catalan physician, natural philosopher and musician, taken on as surgeon of Sophie. UPDATE: I watched the film again last year (had to get a DVD copy from the library; mine was a videotape and my VCR is long gone) and so much of the action feels just like O’Brian’s descriptions in the books. Lots of material from the books is crammed into the movie, but I enjoyed seeing these “old friends” in action, rather than just imagining them.

C S Forester having died just a few years earlier, some critics were left bewildered and disappointed by the complexity of O'Brian's creation after the predictability of the Hornblower series. [26] "Not, I think, memorable, at least in the Hornblower way" wrote the Irish Press, [27] while according to the Library Journal, "Mourning Hornblower fans may prefer to read a good if disappointing new book rather than to reread one of the master's epics". [28]

While waiting for refitting in Malta, the Surprise’s sailors become more and more dissolute, with money to pay for “fancy girls” and liquor. French intelligence, at the same time, is getting increasingly knowledgeable about Royal Navy affairs and Dr. Maturin, meanwhile, is entering into an interesting relationship with a would-be lady spy. O'Brian's skills as a writer are almost too numerous to mention. He has invented a world of characters who are far more fun to be with than most real people. His knowledge of naval technology and natural history is profound, so you actually learn quite a bit in every volume. After volume two his skills of plotting and pace reach a near perfect pitch, so each volume reaches a thoroughly compelling emotional crisis (which is not always a naval battle) and comes to a satisfying ending. His convoy duties complete, Aubrey is permitted by Admiral Lord Keith to cruise the Mediterranean independently, looking to capture French and Spanish merchant vessels, at which he is very successful, taking many prizes. Sophie meets and defeats the much larger and better-armed Cacafuego, a Spanish 32-gun xebec-frigate, though a number of the crew, including Dillon, die in the bloody action. A victory against such odds would normally bring official recognition, promotion, and significant prize money, but unfortunately for Aubrey his superior at Mahon is Captain Harte, with whose wife Aubrey has been having an affair. Harte ensures that Aubrey receives none of those things, though he cannot prevent Aubrey gaining a reputation within the Royal Navy as one of its great, young fighting captains. Tobias, Scott (January 4, 2019). "Revisiting Hours: Ships Ahoy — 'Master and Commander' ". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019 . Retrieved January 7, 2019. Roger Ebert gave the film 4 stars out of 4, saying that "it achieves the epic without losing sight of the human". [18] The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw praised the film and Crowe's performance. [32] New York Times critic A. O. Scott described the film as "stupendously entertaining". [33] However, Jason Epstein, also writing for The New York Times, criticized the film, taking issue with changes from the novel, Crowe's "one-dimensional action hero", and implausible events in the script. [14]