On This Page
Description
Napoleon has been defeated at Waterloo, but the ensuing peace becomes ugly for Captain Jack Aubrey, with violent celebrations of the English sailors in Gibraltar and the desertion of nearly half his crew. To cap it all off, the Surprise is nearly sunk one night in a shattering collision on the first leg of her journey to South America, where Jack and his friend Stephen Maturin are to help Chile assert her independence from Spain.The delay for repairs reaps a harvest of strange consequences, show more and the South American expedition is a desperate affair, starting with near disaster in the ice-choked seas far south of the Horn. In the end, Jack, again the daring frigate commander of old, stakes all on a desperate solo night raid against the might of the Spanish viceroy in Peru. Jack's bold initiative to strike at the vastly superior Spanish fleet precipitates a spectacular naval action that will determine both Chile's fate and his own.
. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Covid Christmas book number three was a bittersweet delight: the last complete novel in the Aubrey/Maturin series. I've been deliberately spacing these books out to delay the moment when there aren't any more to read... Although I can always go back to the beginning and re-read. I'm too woozy-headed from the covid to reflect upon the entire majestic twenty-book series, so will confine my remarks to [b:Blue at the Mizzen|24526|Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey & Maturin, #20)|Patrick O'Brian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208753l/24526._SY75_.jpg|3715392]. It certainly seemed to me quite a fitting conclusion, even if it wasn't intended as such, by ending on a happy and hopeful note for Jack and show more Stephen. The reader is treated to all the great strengths of the series: hilarious dialogue, wonderful characterisation, excellent historical details, endearing creatures, exciting sea battles, vivid travelogue, and involving plot. Of particular note are Jack being dramatically wounded but walking it off, Stephen proposing marriage, and the vagaries of Chilean politics that result in Surprise not getting paid and irresistible little moments like this:
The adventures of Aubrey and Maturin are a delight and [b:Blue at the Mizzen|24526|Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey & Maturin, #20)|Patrick O'Brian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208753l/24526._SY75_.jpg|3715392] is a comforting, distracting read when ill. show less
It was inconceivable that the deluge should last till dawn - the sky could not hold so much - but it did, leaving them stunned, deafened, amazed at the light of day to eastward and the familiar sails of Ringle making three or even four knots towards them, a tiny breeze right aft. Incomprehensibly the deck had become littered, even covered in places, with strange forms of deep-sea life, presumably sucked up by some remote series of waterspouts and liberated here.
But Jack Aubrey was having absolutely none of them: Surprise's only care, and Ringle's too, was to get out of this odious part of the sea without a moment's pause - no breakfast, even, until they were well under way with clear decks, rigging free of seaweed, flying squids and various monsters - Stephen had to content himself with pocketing the less gelatinous creatures and hurrying them below before his stony-faced captain had him forcibly removed.
The adventures of Aubrey and Maturin are a delight and [b:Blue at the Mizzen|24526|Blue at the Mizzen (Aubrey & Maturin, #20)|Patrick O'Brian|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208753l/24526._SY75_.jpg|3715392] is a comforting, distracting read when ill. show less
Blue at the Mizzen, Patrick O’Brian’s twentieth and final complete book in his Aubrey-Maturin series, picks up shortly after the events of The Hundred Days, with Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin embarking on their mission to Chile that was laid out during The Yellow Admiral, but briefly interrupted by Napoleon’s final attempt to reclaim power. A collision with a Nordic timber ship further delays Surprise, forcing her to undergo temporary repairs in the hopes of reaching Funchal for more lasting work, only the crew finds the Funchal shipyard aflame. Maturin receives word that the Chilean independence movement has factionalized, so he boards Ringle in order to hasten to London to consult with Sir Joseph Blaine. There, he show more looks in on his daughter, Brigid, and Jack’s family at Woolcombe, learning that Surprise has returned for repairs. In London, the Duke of Clarence asks Jack to take Horatio Hanson aboard as a midshipman and Jack, though initially reluctant, finds that the boy is a prodigious mathematical talent and accepts him. With the Surprise repaired, the ship and crew head for Chile, picking up Dr. Amos Jacob in Funchal and stopping in Freetown, Sierra Leone to resupply and for Dr. Maturin to propose marriage to Christine Wood, a widow of his acquaintance. Having had an unhappy prior marriage, she turns him down, but plans to visit England and offers Stephen hope for the future.
In Chile, Jack finds conflicting orders, but works to aid the local juntas, in particular the Supreme Director, General Bernardo O’Higgins, and Colonel Eduardo Valdes, a cousin of Maturin’s. Maturin and Dr. Jacob learn that the Peruvian forces, loyal to the Spanish king, plan to invade Chile, so they confront them at Valdivia, bombarding a fort and seizing gold, silver, and other supplies. Despite the success, local sentiment turns against the British to the point that the junta plans to impound Surprise, so Aubrey makes a plan to cut out the Peruvian frigate Esmeralda, strengthen the Chilean navy, and thereby build up goodwill. The plan works, though Aubrey is wounded. As he recovers, Stephen and Dr. Jacob send word to Sir Joseph while Ringle brings the news to Valparaiso. Despite much celebration, Aubrey insists that his sailors must be paid or depart, and Don Miguel Carrera, the president of the Valparasio junta, authorizes the first of the funds. Aubrey begins training the Chilean navy as Surprise surveys the coast, while orders arrive for Aubrey to repair to HMS Implacable in the River Plate, take command of the South African squadron, and hoist his pennant as Rear Admiral of the Blue. Carrera states that it will take longer to complete the payments, so Aubrey respectfully departs Chile and accepts his long-sought promotion.
Blue at the Mizzen has all the character moments fans of this series have come to love, with Horatio Hanson being a fine addition to the crew. Stephen’s time with Christine Wood offers some moments of joy following his sorrow in the previous novel. Like The Yellow Admiral and The Hundred Days, O’Brian discusses the effects of changing land policy, specifically enclosure, and how the war’s end impacts not just sailors and soldiers, but every level of the British economy that had been on a war-footing for two decades. Though O’Brian did not intend this as his final novel, its publication a mere two months before his death made it so. As such, it will bring fans joy with the promise of happiness for the two characters that have led the series over its twenty novels. This Folio Society edition reprints the original text with insets containing historical portraits and sketches to illustrate some of the scenes and an endpaper map centered on the Atlantic Ocean, with several labeled cities from throughout the series and an inset of the tip of South America. show less
In Chile, Jack finds conflicting orders, but works to aid the local juntas, in particular the Supreme Director, General Bernardo O’Higgins, and Colonel Eduardo Valdes, a cousin of Maturin’s. Maturin and Dr. Jacob learn that the Peruvian forces, loyal to the Spanish king, plan to invade Chile, so they confront them at Valdivia, bombarding a fort and seizing gold, silver, and other supplies. Despite the success, local sentiment turns against the British to the point that the junta plans to impound Surprise, so Aubrey makes a plan to cut out the Peruvian frigate Esmeralda, strengthen the Chilean navy, and thereby build up goodwill. The plan works, though Aubrey is wounded. As he recovers, Stephen and Dr. Jacob send word to Sir Joseph while Ringle brings the news to Valparaiso. Despite much celebration, Aubrey insists that his sailors must be paid or depart, and Don Miguel Carrera, the president of the Valparasio junta, authorizes the first of the funds. Aubrey begins training the Chilean navy as Surprise surveys the coast, while orders arrive for Aubrey to repair to HMS Implacable in the River Plate, take command of the South African squadron, and hoist his pennant as Rear Admiral of the Blue. Carrera states that it will take longer to complete the payments, so Aubrey respectfully departs Chile and accepts his long-sought promotion.
Blue at the Mizzen has all the character moments fans of this series have come to love, with Horatio Hanson being a fine addition to the crew. Stephen’s time with Christine Wood offers some moments of joy following his sorrow in the previous novel. Like The Yellow Admiral and The Hundred Days, O’Brian discusses the effects of changing land policy, specifically enclosure, and how the war’s end impacts not just sailors and soldiers, but every level of the British economy that had been on a war-footing for two decades. Though O’Brian did not intend this as his final novel, its publication a mere two months before his death made it so. As such, it will bring fans joy with the promise of happiness for the two characters that have led the series over its twenty novels. This Folio Society edition reprints the original text with insets containing historical portraits and sketches to illustrate some of the scenes and an endpaper map centered on the Atlantic Ocean, with several labeled cities from throughout the series and an inset of the tip of South America. show less
Despite all my best efforts at procrastination and dragging things out as much as possible, I finished the series this evening at about five thirty, before flopping back in my seat with a sigh. Well. Now what am I going to do? I don't think I'll ever find another series which could win my heart as thoroughly as the Aubrey-Maturin one did. Prose, dialogue, characterisation, period detail—all calculated to make me wish that O'Brian had had a chance to finish the twenty-first book, and to keep going for many more. Still, at least the last complete work which we have was a beautiful, flowing indulgence which ends on a supremely optimistic note—Jack hoisting his flag at last, Stephen with the chance of great happiness in his future—and show more it's a lovely place to leave our pair show less
The Surprise had been a man-of-war vessel. It's newest assignment as a research vessel was a hydrographical assessment. Captain Jack Aubrey has been charged with conducting a survey of Magellan's Strait, the Horn, and the Chile coast. Additionally, Aubrey agreed to help Chile assert its independence from Spain. Aubrey just can't stay away from a good political conflict and his decision has its consequences.
Blue at the Mizzen focuses a little more on the personal lives of Jack Aubrey and especially Doctor Stephen Maturin, which was a pleasant surprise. Jack's brief romance with a married woman, his cousin Isobel was short lived, but Maturin's was a little more substantial. As a widower, he travels to Africa where his birding adventure show more with fellow bird enthusiast Christine sparks a romance. While his proposal goes unaccepted in the heat of the moment, he continues to write to her from sea and his letters become a diary of sorts (extremely helpful with the narrative).
Of course O'Brian adds plenty of swashbuckling drama as well as international intrigue to his plot besides romance. show less
Blue at the Mizzen focuses a little more on the personal lives of Jack Aubrey and especially Doctor Stephen Maturin, which was a pleasant surprise. Jack's brief romance with a married woman, his cousin Isobel was short lived, but Maturin's was a little more substantial. As a widower, he travels to Africa where his birding adventure show more with fellow bird enthusiast Christine sparks a romance. While his proposal goes unaccepted in the heat of the moment, he continues to write to her from sea and his letters become a diary of sorts (extremely helpful with the narrative).
Of course O'Brian adds plenty of swashbuckling drama as well as international intrigue to his plot besides romance. show less
At 289 pages, Blue at the Mizzen is the shortest of the twenty completed books in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and, if one has read the preceding nineteen, it contains nothing new or surprising. Richard Russ, writing under his pseudonym of Patrick O'Brian, continues his formula of following the lives of Jack Aubrey, ship captain. and his close friend Stephen Maturin, physician/political adviser/spy. The usual adventures, such as blasting enemy ships to smithereens with cannons, capturing enemy forts, sailing through storms as well as doldrums, having shipmates die, scampering up the ship's rigging to have a look from the yardarms, etc., etc. are all here. Readers of the earlier books have seen all of this same action before—multiple show more times. Russ/O'Brian obviously exhausted his imagination long before undertaking Blue.
Russ/O'Brian's usual weaknesses as a writer are here in full force still. In reviews of some of his earlier books, I have observed his disregard for the passage of time and for any sort of transitional elements. Aubrey can “pass the word” to have the captain of another ship come aboard to speak with him, and in no more than one or two lines of text, if that, lo and behold, that captain is on board and speaking with him. The transporter on board the starship Enterprise takes longer than that to get a character from one spot to another!
On occasion, it seems as though Russ/O'Brian even forgets what he has just written, with strange non-sequiturs popping up. For instance, in Blue, Aubrey takes pains to impress upon the Chilean official that his crew have never been paid their prize money for a ship that they captured; as a result, they are extremely unhappy and are becoming potentially mutinous. However, only a few pages later, still unpaid, that same crew are “all at their stations and all beaming with pleasure” as they sail off to join the British South African Squadron. Perhaps the reader is meant to attribute such a transformation in the crew's outlook to some sort of miraculous divine intervention? Russ/O'Brian certainly doesn't explain it.
Overall, I continue to assess the Aubrey/Maturin series as a three-star read simply because it is generally a pleasantly diversionary, if incredibly lengthy, story. I do find the repetition of plot, on which the strength of the entire series depends, to be tedious, and I find the inconsistencies, such as the crew's miraculous change of outlook, to be annoying. Russ/O'Brian might have done better to have allowed Aubrey his promotion to admiral in the nineteenth book and called it good at that point. Still, if one has read the series up to this point, he will want to see Aubrey achieve his goal of obtaining an admiral's blue pennant, and that is a positive note on which to end the story (although I understand there are actually some readers who have sought out the unfinished manuscript of what might have become a twenty-first book).
If one wants to read an excellent sea-going adventure, however, may I recommend In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick? It is not only a ripping good read but also has the benefit of historical accuracy. The attack on the Essex by a sperm whale, by the way, was reportedly drawn upon by Herman Melville in his writing of Moby Dick. This paragraph obviously has nothing whatsoever to do with Russ/O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, but I did want to end on a positive note! show less
Russ/O'Brian's usual weaknesses as a writer are here in full force still. In reviews of some of his earlier books, I have observed his disregard for the passage of time and for any sort of transitional elements. Aubrey can “pass the word” to have the captain of another ship come aboard to speak with him, and in no more than one or two lines of text, if that, lo and behold, that captain is on board and speaking with him. The transporter on board the starship Enterprise takes longer than that to get a character from one spot to another!
On occasion, it seems as though Russ/O'Brian even forgets what he has just written, with strange non-sequiturs popping up. For instance, in Blue, Aubrey takes pains to impress upon the Chilean official that his crew have never been paid their prize money for a ship that they captured; as a result, they are extremely unhappy and are becoming potentially mutinous. However, only a few pages later, still unpaid, that same crew are “all at their stations and all beaming with pleasure” as they sail off to join the British South African Squadron. Perhaps the reader is meant to attribute such a transformation in the crew's outlook to some sort of miraculous divine intervention? Russ/O'Brian certainly doesn't explain it.
Overall, I continue to assess the Aubrey/Maturin series as a three-star read simply because it is generally a pleasantly diversionary, if incredibly lengthy, story. I do find the repetition of plot, on which the strength of the entire series depends, to be tedious, and I find the inconsistencies, such as the crew's miraculous change of outlook, to be annoying. Russ/O'Brian might have done better to have allowed Aubrey his promotion to admiral in the nineteenth book and called it good at that point. Still, if one has read the series up to this point, he will want to see Aubrey achieve his goal of obtaining an admiral's blue pennant, and that is a positive note on which to end the story (although I understand there are actually some readers who have sought out the unfinished manuscript of what might have become a twenty-first book).
If one wants to read an excellent sea-going adventure, however, may I recommend In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick? It is not only a ripping good read but also has the benefit of historical accuracy. The attack on the Essex by a sperm whale, by the way, was reportedly drawn upon by Herman Melville in his writing of Moby Dick. This paragraph obviously has nothing whatsoever to do with Russ/O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, but I did want to end on a positive note! show less
This series is long, but consistently satisfying. I can't point to any particular book and say this is a great one, but to have produced 20 good ones, with the same basic set of characters and to have done it with very few cheap or mawkish moments is an amazing feat. The natural expectation for these books is for them to be focussed on adventure, manly derring-do, and there is some of that. But at heart O'Brien's books are more "Jane Austen asea." Austen is an obvious and acknowledged influence--there is much concern for the nuances of human interaction, manners, and due consideration for our friends' failings. Great stuff.
Book lovers can become addicted. To authors, like Zane Grey or John Irving. To genres, like science fiction or westerns or mysteries. Or to series. I was addicted to Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, waiting expectantly for each new title, rereading earlier ones more than once, hoping that the elderly O’Brian would live to complete his series—though there is some doubt that he ever had a culminating novel in mind. Blue at the Mizzen (W. W. Norton, 1999), #20, was the last one published before his death on January 2, 2000. His publisher’s eulogy called him “a writer of breathtaking erudition, [who] evoked in complete and dazzling detail an entire world—that of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.”
J. W. show more Foster was also an addicted reader, even going for the cookbook based on the series: “anyone for soused pig face?” He used his review of Blue at the Mizzen for Bookpage (the familiar review you can pick up at many bookstores) as an occasion to assess the whole series. I’m permitting myself to use a long quote from his review, partly because it expresses my admiration for O’Brian precisely, but also because Foster seems such a good representative of Aubrey-Maturin addicts. An attorney in Columbia, South Carolina, he describes himself as an avid sailor and equestrian. Obviously a sensitive and sensible reader, he is not a professional litterateur. Here’s what he says, summing up O’Brian’s versatility:
“His erudition . . . extends to the natural history of mammals, insects, and birds, to the ethnography of more cultures than I can count, to astronomy and navigational mathematics, to vintages of 18th-century wines [not to mention food, music, and laudanum], to naval tactics and practices, and to the truths of the human heart. We grow to know these fictional characters and to admire their foibles and courage so much that they become old, valued friends. And here, I suppose, is the secret of O'Brian's art: that his genuine hard work at mastering and relating to us a body of arcane knowledge makes us trust him enough to listen to what he has to say about friendship, patriotism, courage, and love.”
[ http://www.bookpage.com/9911bp/fiction/blue_mizzen.html ]
According to a member of a Jane Austen Society, the Aubrey/Maturin series “have been likened to the sequential novels of Trollope and Anthony Powell, but the comparison that pleased O’Brian most was to Jane Austen. He revered her as the finest of all English novelists and kept early editions of her works near him while he wrote.” Indeed, the comparison of O’Brian to Austen became almost a cliche in reviews of his work, but it is apt not only because of his sensitivity to the social milieu he depicted but also because of his refined style of understatement.
Jack Aubrey is the heroic “master and commander” of the series, but I identity with Stephen Maturin. So did O’Brian, I’m told. A somewhat frail and awkward man, he has trouble even boarding the sailing vessels on which he serves without mishap. A bold but unconventional surgeon, he is a quiet, secretive companion, playing the cello to Aubrey’s violin, serving as an unpaid but diligent spy, aligning himself with his rebellious Catalan compatriots in Spain, and devoting himself to his avocation as a naturalist, a protegee and field agent for Joseph Banks (the historic British naturalist of whom O’Brian wrote a scholarly biography). Of course, one also follows the ups and downs of Maturin’s ardent love affair, too—but I’ll let you read the series to learn about that.
By the time of Blue at the Mizzen, the Napoleonic wars have drawn to a close. Napoleon is safely exiled on St. Helena. How will this affect the career of an officer in the British Navy? How will it provide adventure and suspense for readers of O’Brian novels? Never fear. Both the officer in his navy and the addicted reader of the novels fare quite well.
Aubrey and Maturin, after a collision in the night and a long delay for repairs, are sent on a mission to Chile, to offer assistance to the rebels against Spain. A treacherous pass around Cape Horn, tensions within the Chilean naval command, and an heroic encounter with the Spanish fleet maintain a brisk pace and lead to an ironic but satisfying ending.
And O’Brian’s prose style keeps pace too. He is strong and direct when the occasion demands that kind of language, but he can be leisurely and playful, too. Just try diagramming this sentence. It comes at a point when a bright November morning has dawned in the Southern hemisphere. Are you ready for this? Only one sentence, mind you.
“The dear topgallant breeze had chased away any hint of mist the night might have left and this was a light-filled day with a deep blue sky from horizon to horizon – a transparent air that allowed small details to be seen a great way off, and although when the sun reached his zenith – the exact height to be measured by every soul aboard who could command a sextant, quadrant or backstaff – his warmth might be troublesome, but euphroes were already at hand for the awmings that would moderate his zeal, and while the bosun and his mates were laying out the intricacies of their lines, fore and after, Jack Aubrey stood leaning on the elegant taffrail of the Surprise, gazing somewhat eastward of her wash at the boat pulling towards her from the vessel registered as Isaac Newton but universally called the Lisbon packet, that having been her vocation before her owner (as unlucky in cards as he was in love) sold her to a penurious entomologist who, having inherited a prodigious fortune, indulged himself and his colleagues of the Royal Society in an equally prodigious voyage.”
What fun the author is having with us: clipping along like a ship on vigorous waves, he sails along through clauses within clauses, n-dashes and parentheses, appositives and series, parallelisms and a personification, participial phrases and nominative absolutes. And every once in a while there is a splash of vocabulary to demand a midshipman’s attention: from sextant to backstaff, from euphroes to taffrails, from penurious entomologist to prodigious fortune (just a little alliteration and multisyllabic Latinate stateliness, to clear the mind), ending with the quaint repetition in a prodigious voyage.
Sail on, sail on!
Understand, you don’t get such exhilarating linguistic weather all that often, and, when you do, you know that the Jack Aubrey within old Patrick O’Brian is winking at you and the Stephen Maturin within him is responding quietly but exultantly as he might when he espies “two black-necked swans flying steadily southward, quite low over the water, so low that he could hear the rhythmic beating of their wings.”
What does the title of this particular novel signify? Ah, you have to read all the way to the penultimate page to find that out. I think O’Brian must have known that this might be the last Aubrey/Maturin novel he would finish. I can almost see him sniffing his brandy. show less
J. W. show more Foster was also an addicted reader, even going for the cookbook based on the series: “anyone for soused pig face?” He used his review of Blue at the Mizzen for Bookpage (the familiar review you can pick up at many bookstores) as an occasion to assess the whole series. I’m permitting myself to use a long quote from his review, partly because it expresses my admiration for O’Brian precisely, but also because Foster seems such a good representative of Aubrey-Maturin addicts. An attorney in Columbia, South Carolina, he describes himself as an avid sailor and equestrian. Obviously a sensitive and sensible reader, he is not a professional litterateur. Here’s what he says, summing up O’Brian’s versatility:
“His erudition . . . extends to the natural history of mammals, insects, and birds, to the ethnography of more cultures than I can count, to astronomy and navigational mathematics, to vintages of 18th-century wines [not to mention food, music, and laudanum], to naval tactics and practices, and to the truths of the human heart. We grow to know these fictional characters and to admire their foibles and courage so much that they become old, valued friends. And here, I suppose, is the secret of O'Brian's art: that his genuine hard work at mastering and relating to us a body of arcane knowledge makes us trust him enough to listen to what he has to say about friendship, patriotism, courage, and love.”
[ http://www.bookpage.com/9911bp/fiction/blue_mizzen.html ]
According to a member of a Jane Austen Society, the Aubrey/Maturin series “have been likened to the sequential novels of Trollope and Anthony Powell, but the comparison that pleased O’Brian most was to Jane Austen. He revered her as the finest of all English novelists and kept early editions of her works near him while he wrote.” Indeed, the comparison of O’Brian to Austen became almost a cliche in reviews of his work, but it is apt not only because of his sensitivity to the social milieu he depicted but also because of his refined style of understatement.
Jack Aubrey is the heroic “master and commander” of the series, but I identity with Stephen Maturin. So did O’Brian, I’m told. A somewhat frail and awkward man, he has trouble even boarding the sailing vessels on which he serves without mishap. A bold but unconventional surgeon, he is a quiet, secretive companion, playing the cello to Aubrey’s violin, serving as an unpaid but diligent spy, aligning himself with his rebellious Catalan compatriots in Spain, and devoting himself to his avocation as a naturalist, a protegee and field agent for Joseph Banks (the historic British naturalist of whom O’Brian wrote a scholarly biography). Of course, one also follows the ups and downs of Maturin’s ardent love affair, too—but I’ll let you read the series to learn about that.
By the time of Blue at the Mizzen, the Napoleonic wars have drawn to a close. Napoleon is safely exiled on St. Helena. How will this affect the career of an officer in the British Navy? How will it provide adventure and suspense for readers of O’Brian novels? Never fear. Both the officer in his navy and the addicted reader of the novels fare quite well.
Aubrey and Maturin, after a collision in the night and a long delay for repairs, are sent on a mission to Chile, to offer assistance to the rebels against Spain. A treacherous pass around Cape Horn, tensions within the Chilean naval command, and an heroic encounter with the Spanish fleet maintain a brisk pace and lead to an ironic but satisfying ending.
And O’Brian’s prose style keeps pace too. He is strong and direct when the occasion demands that kind of language, but he can be leisurely and playful, too. Just try diagramming this sentence. It comes at a point when a bright November morning has dawned in the Southern hemisphere. Are you ready for this? Only one sentence, mind you.
“The dear topgallant breeze had chased away any hint of mist the night might have left and this was a light-filled day with a deep blue sky from horizon to horizon – a transparent air that allowed small details to be seen a great way off, and although when the sun reached his zenith – the exact height to be measured by every soul aboard who could command a sextant, quadrant or backstaff – his warmth might be troublesome, but euphroes were already at hand for the awmings that would moderate his zeal, and while the bosun and his mates were laying out the intricacies of their lines, fore and after, Jack Aubrey stood leaning on the elegant taffrail of the Surprise, gazing somewhat eastward of her wash at the boat pulling towards her from the vessel registered as Isaac Newton but universally called the Lisbon packet, that having been her vocation before her owner (as unlucky in cards as he was in love) sold her to a penurious entomologist who, having inherited a prodigious fortune, indulged himself and his colleagues of the Royal Society in an equally prodigious voyage.”
What fun the author is having with us: clipping along like a ship on vigorous waves, he sails along through clauses within clauses, n-dashes and parentheses, appositives and series, parallelisms and a personification, participial phrases and nominative absolutes. And every once in a while there is a splash of vocabulary to demand a midshipman’s attention: from sextant to backstaff, from euphroes to taffrails, from penurious entomologist to prodigious fortune (just a little alliteration and multisyllabic Latinate stateliness, to clear the mind), ending with the quaint repetition in a prodigious voyage.
Sail on, sail on!
Understand, you don’t get such exhilarating linguistic weather all that often, and, when you do, you know that the Jack Aubrey within old Patrick O’Brian is winking at you and the Stephen Maturin within him is responding quietly but exultantly as he might when he espies “two black-necked swans flying steadily southward, quite low over the water, so low that he could hear the rhythmic beating of their wings.”
What does the title of this particular novel signify? Ah, you have to read all the way to the penultimate page to find that out. I think O’Brian must have known that this might be the last Aubrey/Maturin novel he would finish. I can almost see him sniffing his brandy. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Top Five Books of 2013
1,562 works; 721 members
A Rainbow of Books: Colors in the Title
570 works; 24 members
Books Read in 2018
4,360 works; 110 members
Author Information
153+ Works 76,869 Members
Patrick O'Brian is the author of twenty volumes in the highly respected Aubrey/Maturin series of novels. (Publisher Provided) Patrick O'Brien was born in Ireland in 1914. His education included the Sorbonne. O'Brian has produced a variety of works, including biographies of Picasso and Sir Joseph Banks and translations of the novels and memoirs of show more Simone de Beauvoir, but he is best known for the creation of an unlikely pair of Napoleonic War-era heroes in the Aubrey-Maturin Series. British naval officer Jack Aubrey and Irish scholar and physician Stephen Maturin have been featured in more than a novels published in Great Britain (five of which have also appeared in America). He died on January 2, 2000. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Blu oltre la prua
- Original title
- Blue at the Mizzen
- Original publication date
- 1999
- People/Characters
- Jack Aubrey; Stephen Maturin; Sophie Aubrey; Charlotte Aubrey; Fanny Aubrey; George Aubrey (show all 28); Brigid Maturin; Preserved Killick; Joe Plaice; William Reade; Lord Keith; Lady Keith; Mr. Wright; Mr. Adams; Amos Jacob; Isobel Barmouth; Admiral Lord Barmouth; Prince William, the Duke of Clarence; Horatio Fitzroy Hanson; Christine Wood; Emily Sweeting; Sarah Sweeting; Bernardo O'Higgins; Sir David Lindsay; Eduardo Valdes; Awkward Davies; Poll Skeeping; Clarissa Oakes
- Important places
- Chile; Latin America; South America; Southern Ocean
- Dedication
- I dedicate this book, donum indignum,
to the Provost and to all those many people
who were so kind to me while I was
writing it in Trinity College, Dublin
"donum indignum" roughly means unworthy gift - First words
- The Surprise, lying well out in the channel with Gibraltar half a mile away on her starboard quarter, lying at a single anchor with her head to the freshening north-west breeze, piped all hands at four bells in the afternoon ... (show all)watch; and at the cheerful sound her tender Ringle, detached once more on a private errand by Lord Keith, cheered with the utmost good will, while the Surprises turned out with a wonderful readiness, laughing, beaming and thumping one another on the back in spite of a strong promise of rain and a heavy sea running already.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)After a last salute Jack glanced aloft - still the sweet west wind - and then he looked fore and aft: a fine clear deck, hands at all their stations and all beaming with pleasure; and turning to the master he said, 'Mr. Hanson, pray lay me a course for Cape Pilar and Magellan's Strait.'
- Publisher's editor
- Lawrence, Starling
- Blurbers
- Ferguson, John; Skow, John; Paulson, Neil
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 2,683
- Popularity
- 6,895
- Reviews
- 25
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- 5 — English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 55
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 24