Set sail for the read of your life ...
Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are amongst the greatest series of historical novels ever written.
Master and Commander is the first of Patrick O'Brian's now famous Aubrey/Maturin novels. It establishes the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey RN and Stephen Maturin,who becomes his secretive ship's surgeon and an intelligence agent.
It contains all the action and excitement which could possibly be hoped for in a historical novel,but it also displays the qualities which have put O'Brian far ahead of any of his competitors: his depiction of the detail of life aboard a Nelsonic man-of-war,of weapons,food,conversation and ambience,of the landscape and of the sea. O'Brian's portrayal of each of these is faultless and the sense of period throughout is acute. His power of characterisation is above all masterly.
This brilliant historical novel marked the debut of a writer who grew into one of our greatest novelists ever,the author of what Alan Judd,writing in the Sunday Times,has described as `the most significant extended story since Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time'.
Publisher: HarperCollins PublishersISBN: 9780006499152Number of pages: 448Weight: 280 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 27 mm
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'If O'Brian's novels have become a cult,this is because they are truly addictive...They are,quite magnificently,adventure yarns whose superb authenticity never distracts from the sheer thrill of the action.'Caroline Moore,Sunday Telegraph
'The Aubrey-Maturin novels,by Patrick O'Brian,are so addictive that after I finish one I have to hide the next from myself for a little while in order to do anything else but read.'Louise Erdrich
'In Aubrey and Maturin,Patrick O'Brian has created two of the most enjoyable characters in twentieth-century fiction. Their relationship sustains an absorbing and thrilling sequence of naval stories,unrivalled in their complexity,full of impeccable detail and psychological insight. O'Brian switches from the intimate to the epic with equal assurance. One of the greatest authors to sail with.'Michael Palin
'My hero is Patrick O'Brian. It's basically impossible to write that well.'David Mamet
'One of the most compelling and brilliant novelists of his time...Beyond his superbly elegant writing,wit and originality,Patrick O'Brian showed an understanding of the nature of a floating world at the mercy of the wind and the sea which has never been surpassed.'Max Hastings,Evening Standard
'I devoured Patrick O'Brian's twenty-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog.'Christopher Hitchens
'Written with most engaging enthusiasm that can't fail to give pleasure to anybody who enjoys historical adventure flavoured with more than a dash of realism.'The Sunday Times
'One of the most brilliantly sustained pieces of historical fictional writing this century.'James Teacher,Spectator
'Patrick O'Brian brings depth to his sea-stories with outstanding dialogue,characterisation,humour and a golden thread of romance. You don't have to love books about naval battles to become entranced.'Katie Fforde
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