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Australian Book Retailer of the Year 2021
Patrick O'Brian
The seventeenth novel in the best-selling Aubrey/Maturin series of naval tales, which the New York Times Book Review has described as the best historical novels ever written.
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The old master has us again in the palm of his hand. -Los Angeles Times (a Best Book of 1999)
The best historical novels ever written. -Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review
Honoring Patrick O'Brian’s centenary, a collection of his favorite travel pieces, replete with perils, discomforts, and exotic pleasures.
The relationship [between Aubrey and Maturin]…is about the best thing afloat…For Conradian power of description and sheer excitement there is nothing in naval fiction to beat the stern chase as…
Vividly detailed 19th-century settings and dramatic tension punctuated with flashes of wry humor make O'Brian’s nautical adventure a splendid treat. -Publishers Weekly
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The best biography of Picasso. -Kenneth Clark
There are two types of people in the world: Patrick O'Brian fans, and people who haven’t read him yet. -Guardian
A welcome reissue of O'Brian’s moving and very fine first novel. -Kirkus Reviews
The first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series.
An immediate precursor to Patrick O'Brian’s acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series, displaying all the splendid prose and attention to detail that O'Brian’s readers expect.
One of the best novelists since Jane Austen…The Hundred Days may be the best installment yet. -Philadelphia Inquirer
A glittering adventure set in India at the height of the British Raj. The New York Times compared this book to Kipling’s Kim and called it a gorgeous entertainment.
O'Brian was only 15 when [Caesar] was published, but he already possessed an instinct for deft plotting and uncomplicated narrative. -The New York Times
One of the best novelists since Jane Austen. -Philadelphia Inquirer
If Jane Austen had written rousing sea yarns, she would have produced something very close to the prose of Patrick O'Brian. -Time
Jack’s assignment: to capture the Indian Ocean islands of Reunion and Mauritius from the French. That campaign forms the narrative thread of this rollicking sea saga. But its substance is…
A marvelously full-flavored, engrossing book, which towers over its current rivals in the genre like a three-decker over a ship’s longboat. -Times Literary Supplement
It has been said that this series is some of the finest historical fiction of our time….Aubrey and Maturin have been described as better than Holmes and Watson, the equal…
Every [Aubrey-Maturin] book is packed to absolute straining with erudition, wit, history, and thunderous action. -Joe Hill
O'Brian is one author who can put a spark of character into the sawdust of time, and The Ionian Mission is another rattling good yarn. -Stephen Vaughan, The Observer
The tenth installment in the beloved, epic Aubrey/Maturin series and inspiration for the major motion picture starring Russell Crowe.
An overwhelming, outstanding novel…! -Irish Times
Fine stuff…[The Letter of Marque] leaves the devotee of naval fiction eager for sequels. -Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World
The sixteenth volume in the Aubrey/Maturin series, and Patrick O'Brian’s first bestseller in the United States.
One of the best novelists since Jane Austen….The Hundred Days may be the best installment yet….I give O'Brian’s fans joy of it. -Philadelphia Inquirer
The inspiration for the major motion picture starring Russell Crowe.
The classic first novel of the epic Aubrey/Maturin series, widely considered the best historical novels ever written (Richard Snow, New York Times).
Few, very few books have made my heart thud with excitement. H.M.S. Surprise managed it. -Helen Lucy Burke, Irish Press
The relationship [between Aubrey and Maturin]…is about the best thing afloat….For Conradian power of description and sheer excitement there is nothing in naval fiction to beat the stern chase as…
In length the series is unique; in quality-and there is not a weak link in the chain-it cannot but be ranked with the best of twentieth century historical novels. -Independent
[The series shows] a joy in language that jumps from every page…You’re in for a wonderful voyage. -Cutler Durkee, People
The Aubrey-Maturin series … ebbs and flows with the timeless tide of character and the human heart. -Ken Ringle, Washington Post
There are those already planning this afternoon’s trip to the bookstore. Their only reaction is: Thank god, Patrick O'Brian is still writing. To you, I say, not a moment to…
Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. All twenty books are being re-issued by Harper Perennial with stunning new jackets.