The Commodore
Published: 1994
Author: Patrick O'Brian
Book 17 of 21: Aubrey/Maturin Novels
Genres: Action, Adventure, British & Irish, Contemporary, Family Life, Fiction, Historical, Literary, Literature, Medical, Military, Navel, Saga, Science Fiction, Sea, Suspense, Thriller, Travel, War
Check the summary of this book here:
The Commodore Summary
The Review:
The Commodore by Patrick O'Brian works brilliantly as a standalone novel. Background, description, and context are expertly handled, and the abundance of scenes, people, and action immediately immerse the reader in a rich, diverse, uncertain, and, above all, authentic Regency world. Surprisingly, it was this haphazardly chosen novel that sent one of my cousins scrambling around bookstores looking for 'Master and Commander,' in order to begin one of the most consistently enjoyable literary experiences of her life (in her own words,) and in the process, I had to lend her my copy of 'Master and Commander.' I never share my books, but some of my cousins are book lovers who respect books, and I am always confident in the security of the books I lend them, so I occasionally let them borrow mine.
This is an excellent fictive tale of a tiny mixed squadron late in the wars, with The Commodore sailing with a flag captain beneath him. Better than Commodore Hornblower's squadron, who also had a flag captain but was in different theaters. Exciting missions, locations, interesting new people, and, of course, Patrick O'Brian's lucid, knowledgeable descriptions of action and combat. Political intrigue and rich private lives of the principal characters, realism, and very human emotional turmoil are weaved together and balanced by the material naval component. The book emphasizes the micro politics and personalities of the squadron's commanding commanders as an intriguing aspect.
The Admiralty of the Royal Navy assigns Captain Aubrey, now Commodore of a squadron of His Majesty's tall ships, to deter the slave trade off what was then known as "The Bight," but more completely was the Bight of Biafra, and further south all the way to Freetown, in the 17th wondrous volume of Patrick O'Brian's incomparable Aubrey/Maturin fictional series set during the Napoleonic Wars.
I've devoured these incredible novels, becoming more utterly engrossed with each one than the one before it. For these reviews, I had to reread all of these terrific stories once again, and it brought back so many wonderful memories.
As usual, Patrick O'Brian has mastered so much non-fiction via as thorough historical research as I have ever seen in any historical novel that it reads as if he was there himself. That, of course, would be impossible because Patrick O'Brian was born in 1914 and died on January 1, 2000. This book came out in 1994, 25 years after the first title in the series.
But it wasn't just in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that the author learned to master the manner of speech. He also learned so much about its history that it's difficult to comprehend the magnitude of the work that must have gone into it.
For example, Patrick O'Brian frequently discusses medical procedures that would have been in use at the time; how diseases were named; how they were diagnosed and treated; where and how a surgeon and his assistants would have learned their craft (because medicine was not always regarded as a respectable profession); and what tools and prescriptions they used in each volume. And Patrick O'Brian weaves all of this into the plot "as easily as kissing your hand," with no interruptions, bumps, or wrinkles. All of this gets in the way of real discussions or plot developments.
As the tale progresses in this chapter, readers in the twenty-first century will learn a lot about the slave trade in that age, and there is no denying its horror. When Doctor Maturin inspects one of the slavers, the descriptions are as raw, real, and visceral as the circumstances would allow.
And one learns about all the political ramifications, such as changes in British parliamentary law about slavery, international relations, maritime law, and merchants who formerly earned lawfully from slaving but now resort to piracy to continue their heinous source of revenue.
But there's also an endless supply of natural history, botany, ornithology, and entomology (which will especially amuse Sir Joseph Blaine, a fictional creation who is the head of Naval intelligence in this series and also a profound devotee of bugs, beetles, and butterflies, who Patrick O'Brian based on Sir Joseph Banks, a well-known naturalist of the era who wrote prolifically and appears in at least one of the novels) — not to mention the topography and meteorological conditions in every possible location on land and at sea, let alone all the nuances and finer aspects of sailing a square-rigger in every sort of wind.
Given the smoothness, delicacy, and magnificence of the prose, it all appears so seamless as to elicit wonder, especially from anyone who has ever written nonfiction seriously and for broad public consumption.
Patrick O'Brian was nothing short of a genius, but as evidenced by the few prefaces he wrote in some of his works, he was modest to a fault, a rare and especially golden quality, and he seemed to enjoy writing these books as much as readers do.
Many archaic words, expressions, descriptions, and names are encountered, and it is helpful to have a large dictionary or internet access nearby to better comprehend events in which one is so deeply immersed as to lose oneself, to find oneself happily "at sea."
Final Thoughts:
This one has a broader geographic scope, a wider range of dangers, and a higher level of intricacy and resolution. Jack is gaining weight, Stephen's health is deteriorating, and good actions are being performed on two continents.
Another thing I like about these novels is that you can read any of them at any time, even if you haven't read the others. Of course, I would not advise it. I read them in order and found that it enhanced my enjoyment of the novels.
However, each book quickly recaps enough of the events of prior books such that a new reader to any of the books would not be lost. In other words, these works invite everybody onboard, and it is a joyful invite.
Even though I claim you may read these novels in any order, I strongly advise against it since a reader must read them in order to properly appreciate and comprehend this series.
Synopsis:
“The seventeenth novel in the sweeping Aubrey-Maturin series of naval tales, which the New York Times Book Review has described as "the best historical novels ever written."
Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances. For Jack, it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, her house being looked after by the widowed Clarissa Oakes.
Much of The Commodore takes place on land, in sitting rooms, and in drafty castles, but the roar of the great guns is never far from our hearing. Aubrey and Maturin are sent on a bizarre decoy mission to the fever-ridden lagoons of the Gulf of Guinea to suppress the slave trade. But their ultimate destination is Ireland, where the French are mounting an invasion that will test Aubrey's seamanship and Maturin's resourcefulness as a secret intelligence agent.
The subtle interweaving of these disparate themes is an achievement of pure storytelling by one of our greatest living novelists.”
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Rating: 95/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.
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