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

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C. S. Forester, 20th-century novelist whose Horatio Hornblower series in many ways influenced O'Brian's sea-tales. Myers, Kevin (22 January 2000). "O'Brian: the most Irish Englishman". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012 . Retrieved 17 January 2018. While no one historic English captain is a complete match for Aubrey, [ citation needed] the exploits of two naval captains are said to have inspired events in the novels, the forementioned Captain Lord Thomas Cochrane, [9] [10] and Captain William Woolsey. [ citation needed] Cochrane used the ruse of placing a light on a floating barrel at night to avoid capture. [11] [ non-primary source needed] [ original research?] Woolsey, aboard HMS Papillon, disguised a ship under his command as a commercial boat; on discovering information that a rogue ship was on the other side of a small island, he sailed around the island and captured the Spanish ship, on April 15, 1805. [12] [ non-primary source needed] [ original research?] The world is full of well written, colourful characters. You live the history, cheer at victories, mourn at losses and laugh at the humour. ( I may never look at a bear in the same way. If you’ve read any of the books, you’ll appreciate seeing how the movie portrayed Captain Aubrey’s steward “Killin” and also his coxswain “Bonden,” both of whom were very well cast. Tom Pullings, too. The replica ship Surprise used in the movie is now on display at the San Diego Maritime Museum.

In his introduction to The Far Side of the World, the 10th book in the series, O'Brian wrote that if the author "had known how many books were to follow the first, he would certainly have started the sequence much earlier" in real historical time. He goes on to explain that "if his readers will bear with him", books of the series will be set in "hypothetical years, rather like those hypothetical moons used in the calculation of Easter: an 1812a as it were or even an 1812b". [7] In effect, the period from June to December 1813 is stretched out to accommodate events that ought to occupy five or six years. Kiefer, Halle (January 17, 2021). "If You Don't Like 2003's Master and Commander, That's On You, Says Its Star Russell Crowe". Vulture. New York. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021 . Retrieved February 19, 2021.And then the concert-goer next to you has the audacity to suggest that you were not even keeping time with the music. And then as you gently, quietly hum in unison with the cello pom, pom-pom-pom, poom, your head bobbing in time, an elbow smashes into your ribs and an angry voice hisses at you to “shush.” a b Krist, Gary (Summer 1994). "Bad Art, Good Entertainment". The Hudson Review. 47 (2): 299–306. doi: 10.2307/3852288. JSTOR 3852288.

The Hundred Days". Publishers Weekly. October 1998 . Retrieved 13 March 2015. He offers a wealth of sly humor (Navy officers' talk is ""really not fit for mixed company because of its profoundly nautical character"") Rahner, Mark (August 30, 2005). "What hath Peter Weir wrought?". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 . Retrieved October 2, 2015.The first few books in the series were tough to get through, the middle group is a little more readable but at the end it's just a swamp of words and filler to slog through. "Every word must pay its way" I was told by a college writing professor. O'Brian fails miserably here. The excessive, irrelevant, unnecessarily wordy detail of the writing finally did me in and I abandoned the series in the middle of the Yellow Admiral; it was just impassable for me – a swamp too far. Bowman, Donna; Noel Murray; Sean O'Neal; Keith Phipps; Nathan Rabin; Tasha Robinson (April 30, 2007). "Inventory: 13 Failed Attempts To Start Film Franchises". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011 . Retrieved July 13, 2011. In an introductory Author's Note to the novel, O'Brian sets out his approach to historical accuracy, noting that historic records of naval battles are filled with "actions that few men could invent". He goes on to say, "That is why I have gone straight to the source for the fighting in this book ... and so when I describe a fight I have log-books, official letters, contemporary accounts or the participants' own memoirs to vouch for every exchange ... Yet, on the other hand, I have not felt slavishly bound to precise chronological sequence; ... within a context of general historical accuracy I have changed names, places and minor events". He considers that "authenticity is a jewel", and that "the admirable men of these times ... are best celebrated in their own splendid actions rather than in imaginary contests". [9] Guide for the Perplexed by A G Brown. Translations into English of foreign phrases within the novels. a b "Thomas Cochrane". Greenwich: National Maritime Museum, Royals Museums. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021 . Retrieved December 4, 2016.