HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Truelove by Patrick O'Brian
Loading...

The Truelove (original 1992; edition 1993)

by Patrick O'Brian

Series: Aubrey-Maturin (15)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,339216,553 (4.11)30
Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:

The fifteenth installment in Patrick O'Brian's widely acclaimed series of Aubrey-Maturin novels is equal parts mystery, adventure, and psychological drama.

A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the Sandwich Islands at French instigation, and Captain Jack Aubrey is dispatched with the Surprise to restore order. But stowed away in the cable-tier is an escaped female convict. To the officers, Clarissa Harvill is an object of awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies. Aubrey himself is won over and indeed strongly attracted to this woman who will not speak of her past. But only Aubrey's friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, can fathom Clarissa's secrets: her crime, her personality, and a clue identifying a highly placed English spy in the pay of Napoleon's intelligence service.

In a thrilling finale, Patrick O'Brian delivers all the excitement his many readers expect.

.
… (more)
Member:raider_tina
Title:The Truelove
Authors:Patrick O'Brian
Info:W. W. Norton & Company (1993), Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O'Brian (1992)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 30 mentions

English (17)  Spanish (2)  Swedish (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (21)
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
Typical O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin - rich characters, page-turning plot and an incredibly vivid and evocative prose. Excellent. ( )
  malcrf | May 12, 2022 |
I've mentioned before that a series of naval tales stuck in a perpetual 1812 and following the exploits of two individuals that is staggering on past double figures in terms of volumes must run in to problems of repetition and consequently risk dullness.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.booklikes.com/post/334789/post ( )
  Arbieroo | Jul 17, 2020 |
Clarissa Oakes, Patrick O’Brian’s fifteenth book in his Aubrey-Maturin series, picks up shortly after the events of The Nutmeg of Consolation, with Captain Jack Aubrey and the crew of the Suprise having departed from Australia with two unexpected new passengers: Stephen’s former assistant, Padeen, who had been transported to Australia in lieu of a death sentence for attacking a man while in the throes of addiction to laudanum; and Clarissa Harvill, brought aboard by Midshipman Oakes.

The broad plot focuses on Aubrey and the Surprise traveling to Moahu, where they will aid Queen Puolani against a rival claimant to the throne, Kalahua, who has allied himself with the French and captured the crew of the English whaler Truelove. Along the way, they stop and resupply at Annamooka in Tonga, offering O’Brian the opportunity to further explore Polynesian culture. While this sets the plot in motion, much of the story explores shipboard life and the complications that can arise due to jealousies and rivalries with a midshipman’s wife aboard. The novel also continues the circumnavigation of the globe that began in The Thirteen Gun Salute and will end in The Commodore.

Like the previous eight novels, Clarissa Oakes exists outside the normal flow of time – this novel being the ninth of eleven to exist in what O’Brian described as an extended 1812, with these books taking place between the beginning of June 1813 and November 1813. Those looking for a perfect chronology are advised to simply enjoy the story and the way in which O’Brian perfectly recreates the world of the Napoleonic Wars, using Aubrey and Stephen’s activities to comment on the rapid changes occurring in this era and the passage of time in the series’ internal chronology. Interestingly, the U.S. edition changed the title to The Truelove, after the British whaling vessel that appears near the end. This Folio Society edition reprints the original text with insets containing historical portraits and sketches to illustrate some of the scenes. ( )
  DarthDeverell | Feb 27, 2020 |
In which Aubrey suspects something gravely amiss with his crew, and finds his efforts to confirm are frustrated both by naval tradition and his own history as a mid. Maturin endeavours to find sanctuary in Australia for two rescued children, thereby stumbling upon secrets closer to England. Leaving Botany Bay and ostensibly bound for South America, the Surprises again find themselves waylaid by a proxy war in Moahu (Sandwich Islands).

//

Clarissa Oakes related by marriage to Midshipman Oakes, in fact wed by Martin at sea in order to avoid deportation should the cutter following Surprise be hunting absconders.

The original "mini-series" starts with Volume 11 (mission to Chile & Peru), they are waylaid these several volumes.

Events pick up immediately after The Nutmeg of Consolation and close a number of months later, in the same quarter of the globe. ( )
  elenchus | Aug 14, 2018 |
Stephen and Captain Aubrey continue their adventures on the high seas. This book is, like all the rest, full of beautifully understated but rich character moments. ( )
  wealhtheowwylfing | Feb 29, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 17 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (6 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Patrick O'Brianprimary authorall editionscalculated
Brown, RichardNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hunt, GeoffCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Merla, PaolaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tull, PatrickNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vance, SimonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML:

The fifteenth installment in Patrick O'Brian's widely acclaimed series of Aubrey-Maturin novels is equal parts mystery, adventure, and psychological drama.

A British whaler has been captured by an ambitious chief in the Sandwich Islands at French instigation, and Captain Jack Aubrey is dispatched with the Surprise to restore order. But stowed away in the cable-tier is an escaped female convict. To the officers, Clarissa Harvill is an object of awkward courtliness and dangerous jealousies. Aubrey himself is won over and indeed strongly attracted to this woman who will not speak of her past. But only Aubrey's friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, can fathom Clarissa's secrets: her crime, her personality, and a clue identifying a highly placed English spy in the pay of Napoleon's intelligence service.

In a thrilling finale, Patrick O'Brian delivers all the excitement his many readers expect.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.11)
0.5
1 2
1.5
2 7
2.5 5
3 59
3.5 17
4 171
4.5 17
5 130

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

W.W. Norton

2 editions of this book were published by W.W. Norton.

Editions: 0393310167, 0393031098

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,239,459 books! | Top bar: Always visible