The Reverse of the Medal

Book 11 in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series sees some surprising revelations, changes, and reversals of fortune. There's not much sea-going action here, and what there is isn't incredibly satisfying. And the spy stuff is somehow never quite as interesting to me as it feels like it should be, even with the treason-in-high-places plot we've got going on at this point in the series. But the parts of the story involving the characters' personal lives and problems are extremely engaging. Both Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin have moments here that make me feel immense affection for them... and also moments where I'd kind of like to knock some sense into them. Especially Jack Aubrey. How can a man that unbelievably competent at sea be show more such a gullible screw-up on land? But, of course, that's all part of what makes him such an interesting and oddly lovable character. There's also a moment towards the end that genuinely got me a little choked up, and a very interesting setup for going forward into the next volume. show less

Unusually for a Master and Commander novel, whilst reading ‘The Reverse of the Medal’ I was almost more diverted by the plot than the character interactions. Whilst the latter were, as ever, charming and delightful, it was a more plot-driven installment than usual. This may have been connected to being set largely on land, in England. Also, Aubrey and Maturin did not spend a large portion of the book in each other’s company, their conversations largely being with others. Nonetheless, the whole was very enjoyable indeed and had many moments of great hilarity. The tension of the plot was also well handled; O’Brian has an unusual way with pacing, skipping ahead suddenly. Here it works very well.

I cannot mention my favourite parts show more without spoilers, however. Stephen’s pre-dawn walk across the countryside is full of spellbinding description: 'Vast shapeless oaks, often hollow and useless for timber, held out their arms and their fresh young green leaves almost to the middle of the clearing, held them with never a tremor, for down here the air was so still that gossamer floated with no perceptible movement at all.' At the end of this walk, Stephen comes upon a cricket game and his disdain for it is highly amusing. By contrast, the scene in which Jack is put in the pillory and his naval colleagues all cheer for him is solemn and very moving. O’Brian’s writing slides between emotional registers incredibly well. One of the funniest paragraphs in the book is this aside:

"Ah?" said Stephen. In former times this had usually meant a question of a medical nature (his companions had once persuaded the very young and costive Babbington that he was going to have a baby) or a request for a loan of sums varying from sixpence to as much as half a guinea; but that was long ago, and now Babbington had a considerable estate, which included a parliamentary borough as rotten as a borough could well be; and it was no longer probable that he should think himself pregnant.

In conclusion, it is absolutely adorable that when Stephen comes into a fortune his first instinct is to buy Jack his favourite ship. show less

The Reverse of the Medal, Patrick O’Brian’s eleventh book in his Aubrey-Maturin series, picks up shortly after the events of The Far Side of The World, with Captain Jack Aubrey returning the HMS Surprise to England, where the aging ship will be sold out of the service and possibly reduced to scrap. A sense of melancholy overhangs the events of this novel, both with the impending loss of the Surprise and other events.

Aubrey must reconcile his own sense of the passage of time and a cruel world, as he encounters both his bastard son, Samuel Panda, and must participate in a courts martial in which the various accused are certain of a guilty verdict. When the crew return home, they find things similarly bleak ashore. Dr. Stephen Maturin show more learns that his wife, Diana, has abandoned him over a perceived slight during his time in the Mediterranean. Jack, meanwhile, receives what seems a lucky stock tip that results in his arrest for fraud on the Stock Exchange, further complicating his naïve notions of justice. O’Brian is in full force in this novel as he captures the sense of melancholy through Jack’s observations, writing, “Jack observed with regret that the fine coloured coats of his youth were losing more and more ground to black, which, though well enough in particular cases, gave the far pavement a mourning air. To be sure, bottle-green, claret-coloured and bright blue did appear now and then, but the far side of the street was not the flower-garden that once it had been. And pantaloons were almost universal among the young” (pg. 110). Though the trial would seem outlandish, O’Brian’s careful attention to historical detail ensure that it is accurate, as he based the culminating events of the novel on James Beresford Atlay’s account of the trial and conviction of Lord Cochrane before Lord Ellenborough at the Guildhall for a fraud on the Stock Exchange

Like the previous four novels, The Reverse of the Medal exists outside the normal flow of time – this novel being the fifth of twelve to exist in what O’Brian described as an extended 1812, with these dozen books taking place between the beginning of June 1813 and November 1813. Like his previous novels, O’Brian perfectly recreates the world of the Napoleonic War in 1812, using Aubrey and Stephen’s melancholy to reflect their awareness of the rapid changes occurring in this era and the passage of time in the series’ internal chronology. This Folio Society edition reprints the original text with insets containing historical portraits and sketches to illustrate some of the scenes. show less

O' Brian's deftness of touch with dialogue and detail never ceases to amaze me. The first sentence that Jack's son spoke made me wonder why a half-English, half-Black man raised in the Caribbean would speak like an Irish person - so I was not at all surprised to find that he had been raised in an institution run by Irish Catholic priests from Roscommon. It's things like that which makes it such a joy to immerse yourself in these books.

There are some beautiful character moments as well. I especially enjoyed Stephen's thoughts about Diana, Jack's attempts to make Ashgrove Cottage suitable for Sophie's return, and the scene which was in many ways the climax of the book, Jack's being pilloried. That was a scene which I had never thought I show more would seen in an M&C book, but it was beautifully handled. The reaction of the crew to what happened was note-perfect, and the view it gave us of Jack was both insightful and subtle.

The ending was a slight cliff-hanger, though this is not surprising given the structure that O' Brian tends to employ throughout the series as a whole. I like it, though; it gives the whole series a gentle, episodic pace overall that I really, really enjoy. I am thoroughly looking forward to the next book; though, as usual, I am going to put off reading it for as long as possible so that I can make the series last for as long as possible. show less

The torment of Jack's trial for supposedly rigging the stock market is beautifully drawn and exquisitely painful, and when he is put in the stocks, the support from the officers and sailors made me weep, again.

Jack just can't get a break! He's too naive for his own good when it comes to living on shore and he pays for it on a large scale when he gets caught up in political maneuvering. A majority of the action happens on shore, which is a nice change. I loved the scene where Jack and his crew undertake to make Ashford Cottage shipshape. I can just imagine the scene! And I wish I had my own crew to come do the same to mine!

Onshore, but the Best of the Aubrey-Maturin series so far: I find Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series a challenge to read, albeit an excellent, well-connected long novel. I could not put down the eleventh in the series, The Reverse of the Medal, once I began it. Although most of this book occurs on land, where Captain Jack Aubrey is naive and awkward, O'Brian exploits this: the force of the plot is as strong as the earliest, more typically naval stories in the saga. The climax brought tears to my eyes, and the last chapter's denouement evoked a cheer for Maturin and his dear friend. I went right to the Web to order the next two novels.