Master and Commander
Collected Works
Patrick O’Brian’s Navy
by Paul Chamberlain, UK
 |
Patrick O’Brian’s Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey’s WorldRichard O’Neill (Editor)
Edited by Richard O’Neill, with contributions from Chris Chant, David Miller and Clive Wilkinson, Patrick O’Brian’s Navy de-scribes the real Royal Navy that formed the background to the novels and the film. This book leaves no stone unturned to examine all aspects of the subject, including the causes of the war and the navies involved. This work is attractively put together, with each section generously illustrated with pictures relevant to the story, and quotations to add flavour to each topic discussed. Each picture has an informative caption, so the book is crammed with information, making it a valuable reference source as well as an enjoyable book to read. It places Jack Aubrey in context and puts some flesh on his early naval career, as gleaned from the novels (Patrick O’Brian’s fictional stories begin in the year 1800). Throughout the book, the story of the Royal Navy is related to Jack Aubrey’s life and adventures. An interesting departure from the general history of the navy is a chapter entitled ‘Aubrey’s England’. Here is examined life in the country at the time, as much of O’Brian’s novels include Aubrey’s life (personal and professional) in England. I have always believed that you cannot study the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars without some knowledge of the political and military situation during the preceding century, and this book does just that. The authors examine the earlier conflicts of the 18th century and how they influenced Britain’s commerce and her navy, and hence her role during the Napoleonic War. All aspects of the Royal Navy are stud-ied: recruitment, administration, dockyards, life on board ship, life ashore. In the chapter on ships, there is a detailed account of rigging and sails, which helps to understand the mention of these in the novels. Life on ships, including living conditions and the ship’s day, do in effect, provide an account of the navy through the eyes of Jack Aubrey, as each section provides a factual background to life on the vessels that Aubrey commands. Aubrey relished the challenges and rewards of independent command, especially on a frigate, and the main inspiration for his character came from Thomas Cochrane. There is a section devoted to him and the design and armament of frigates, using the restored HMS Trincomalee as an example. Myths are dispelled, such as the idea that ships fired all their guns as a broadside. This would have created a tremendous shock effect on both the ship and crew, so it was more usual to fire the guns as they came to bear upon the enemy. Patrick O’Brian’s Navy covers convoy, blockade, communications at sea, the nature of battle (both single ship and fleet actions), and illustrates these by looking at specific actions. The fleet action of the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797 is followed by the amphibious operation of the Walcheren Expedition of 1809, and then the Battle of Lake Erie, which involved small vessels. Other subjects covered include privateers, prize money, mutiny, desertion, theft, punishments, piracy and slave ships, all of which feature in the novels. This book represents a superb companion to the novels of Patrick O’Brian, and provides a very comprehensive explanation of the terminology, characters and actions experienced by Jack Aubrey. Master and Commander: Collected Works Book Reviews Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire # 77 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |
