The Commodore (Hardcover)

However, all is not well. Aubrey's wife, Sophie, suspects him of having an affair with the stowaway, Mrs. Oakes, although he is innocent. He, in turn, suspects her of having an affair with the local parson, who pursued her before their marriage. Stephen finds his wife, Diana, gone to parts unknown, and his girl child whom he has never seen, is suspected of being an idiot.

Jack is given a new command, promoted to Commodore, and embarks on an effort to stop the slave trade out of Africa, as well as to frustrate a French squadron from interfering in Ireland.

No one knows square-rigged ships as well as the late Patrick O'Brian, the author. His 19th century sea battles are often taken directly from British Admiralty records, but more than that his dialogues are replete with period expressions and turns of phrase that add greatly to his stories. What magnificent stories!

The newcomer to the series should start with the first book, Master and Commander, and take them in order. I envy you the hours of pleasure that await you.

Joseph H. Pierre
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity

"Come grow old with me / The best is yet to be..."

Browning's lines from "Rabbi Ben Ezra" apply nicely to O'Brian's great Aubrey/Maturin series (although I understand that the last couple of volumes in the series are not quite up to the standard). Partly because so few writers can create vital and interesting characters any more, O'Brian stands out with his correct Tory Naval captain (Jack Aubrey) and his British intelligence agent/scientist friend (Stephen Maturin), who show here that they can age gracefully.

But don't begin here. You have to have read the series in order to understand their tangled love and financial relationships and how the situation in THE COMMODORE came to be. If you have read the others through THE WINE DARK SEA, you are in for a real treat.

Aubrey and Maturin combat pro-Napoleonic forces at home and abroad. In the process, they deliver crippling blows to the West African slave trade and prevent a French landing in support of Irish independence.

Now that he has risen in the ranks, Aubrey must deal with issues raised by an incompetent spit-and-polish commander like Captain Thomas and by an otherwise talented sodomite in the person of Captain Duff whose officers rebel against favoritism shown to his catamites. Throughout the book, our heroes are uncertain of the welcome they will receive from their wives and families -- yet they are driven onward for King and Country.