Master and Commander
Collected Works
Jack Aubrey Commands
by Paul Chamberlain, UK
 |
Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O’BrianBrian Lavery
Brian Lavery was one of the historical consultants on the film Master and Commander and his classic work Nelson’s Navy was used as a prime source for all aspects of the film. Jack Aubrey Commands is a comprehensive guide to the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic period, to complement both the film and the novels. It is not as detailed as Nelson’s Navy, but covers the same topics and is a good study nevertheless. The author begins with a general historical background to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the role of the Royal Navy. The story also includes British politics and the British legal system of the time, relating such subjects to the Aubrey/Maturin stories. There are sections covering all aspects of naval history, including intelligence, winds and seas, overseas naval bases, and the merchant navy; all of which feature in the books, plus a concise section on the fitting and rigging of ships. The men who manned these vessels are described, relating officers, warrant officers and seamen to the fictional characters. The study is designed to complement the novels with the background historical sources for the people and events encountered. The social origins of the officers are related before examining their lives at sea and how they could attain promotion. The men of the lower deck are included (with an examination of their racial origins), along with the use of the Press Gang, both in myth and reality, plus the often-widespread resistance to this mode of recruitment. This work does cover much of what is in other books reviewed in this article. However, while all aspects of life on board a Royal Navy ship are included, Britain’s enemies are not forgotten. A very interesting chapter on Enemies and Allies takes a brief look at the French Navy, covering the same areas as for the Brit-ish but in less detail. Nevertheless, it is a good general study of the French naval forces. The Spanish and United States navies are included, as well as the smaller naval forces of the world. Each section of the text is designed to explain what the reader will encounter in the novels, so it gives a very broad outline of the naval warfare of the period. A chapter on the Royal Navy in action examines the various roles required of it, such as blockade, protection of trade, cutting out expeditions, amphibious operations and fleet and single ship actions. The Experience of War gives a broad view of defeat, victory, prisoners of war and the results of the war itself. Jack Aubrey Commands is a very general but broad account of the naval history of the period to complement both the film and the novels. It dif-fers from similar works in that it includes a look at Britain’s enemies and allies, plus the experience of war, so it is unique in that respect. Men O’War: Life in 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 |
