The Wine-Dark Sea

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There is a fine line between privateer and pirate, between friend and foe.

With a beleaguered Britain already facing war on two fronts – against Napoleon’s armies in Europe but also against the young and vigorous United States – the objective of ship’s surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin is to light the touch paper of Peruvian revolutionary fervour, all while Captain Jack Aubrey engages with their many and varied enemies at sea.

Will revolution in South America tip the balance Britain’s way?

‘The truth is that we aficionados scarcely feel them to be novels at all. They are a world of their own, a world full of excitement, mystery, charm and good manners of which we have ourselves become participating citizens.’ Jan Morris, Observer

O’Brian, Patrick

O’Brian’s World

Grant McIntyre on Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels

O’Brian’s mastery of language is most wonderful of all. He manages to capture that mixture of toughness and grace which, for me at least, makes formal eighteenth-century English so attractive....