The Fortune of War (Aubrey Maturin Series) - Softcover

O`brian, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393308138 ISBN 13: 9780393308136

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1991

Synopsis

Captain Jack Aubrey, R. N., arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Navy. He and his friend Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a dispatch vessel. But the War of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes where Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance.

About this title

Review

On every page Mr. O'Brian reminds us with subtle artistry of the most important of all historical lessons: that times change, but people don't, that the griefs and follies and victories of the men and women who were here before us are in fact the maps of our own lives. --Richard Snow

O Brian 's Aubrey-Maturin volumes actually constitute a single 6,443-page novel, one that should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century. --George Will

I devoured Patrick O Brian 's 20-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog. --Christopher Hitchens

I fell in love with his writing straightaway, at first with Master and Commander. It wasn t primarily the Nelson and Napoleonic period, more the human relationships. And of course having characters isolated in the middle of the goddamn sea gives more scope. It s about friendship, camaraderie. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin always remind me a bit of Mick and me. --Keith Richards"

I devoured Patrick O Brian s 20-volume masterpiece as if it had been so many tots of Jamaica grog.--Christopher Hitchens"

Gripping and vivid a whole, solidly living world for the imagination to inhabit.--A. S. Byatt"

O Brian s Aubrey-Maturin volumes actually constitute a single 6,443-page novel, one that should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century.--George Will"

I haven t read novels [in the past ten years] except for all of the Patrick O Brian series. It was, unfortunately, like tripping on heroin. I started on those books and couldn t stop.--E. O. Wilson"

Patrick O Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.--James Hamilton-Paterson"

It has been something of a shock to find myself an inveterate reader of girl books obsessed with Patrick O Brian s Napoleonic-era historical novels What keeps me hooked are the evolving relationships between Jack and Stephen and the women they love.--Tamar Lewin"

Book Description

Another Aubrey-Maturin tale, widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written.

Edition details

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393308138
• ISBN 13: 9780393308136
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368