Master and Commander (2000)
Master and Commander is a 2000 unabridged audio - fiction/general book written by Patrick O'Brian.
Patrick O'Brian opens his Aubrey-Maturin series with a chance meeting at a concert in Minorca, where the newly promoted Captain Jack Aubrey and the penniless naval surgeon Stephen Maturin nearly come to blows before becoming lifelong friends. Aubrey takes command of the small sloop Sophie and goes hunting prizes in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars. O'Brian renders the man-of-war in exact detail: the wardroom talk, the food and floggings, the rigging, and the roar of a broadside as ships close. Maturin, a naturalist and secret intelligence agent, is the reader's way in. Dense, dry, and completely immersive.
Quick answers
What is Master and Commander about?
Patrick O'Brian opens his Aubrey-Maturin series with a chance meeting at a concert in Minorca, where the newly promoted Captain Jack Aubrey and the penniless naval surgeon Stephen Maturin nearly come to blows before becoming lifelong friends. Aubrey takes command of the small sloop Sophie and goes hunting prizes in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars. O'Brian renders the man-of-war in exact detail: the wardroom talk, the food and floggings, the rigging, and the roar of a broadside as ships close. Maturin, a naturalist and secret intelligence agent, is the reader's way in. Dense, dry, and completely immersive.
When was Master and Commander published?
Master and Commander was published in 2000.
Who made Master and Commander?
Master and Commander was written by Patrick O'Brian.
Explore Master and Commander guides
Master and Commander in our writing
- Companion guide: Age of Sail
- Companion guide: Sea Voyages & Maritime Adventure
A few thoughts on Master and Commander
Peter Weir's film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World distills the series into two hours of spray, cannon smoke, and the Aubrey-Maturin friendship, with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. For the Age of Sail as something you steer yourself, Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag puts you on the quarterdeck of a period ship, trimming sail and running out the guns.
Historical adventure fiction obsessed with period detail
Patrick O'Brian built Master and Commander from exact naval detail, rigging, watches, courts-martial, the mechanics of a broadside. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag turns ship handling into something you learn by feel, the 2003 film restages Aubrey and Maturin on screen, Charlotte Doyle puts a girl through the same rigging and rules, and Cornwell's Sharpe's Tiger and Agincourt bring identical rigor to war on land.