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Ardent, gregarious British naval officer Jack Aubrey is elated to be given his first appointment as commander: the fourteen-gun ship HMS Sophie. Meanwhile--after a heated first encounter that nearly comes to a duel--Aubrey and a brilliant but down-on-his-luck physician, Stephen... Read Full Overview

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of a life aboard a man-of-war in... Read Full Overview

It is the dawn of the nineteenth century; Britain is at war with Napoleon's France. Jack Aubrey, a young lieutenant in Nelson's navy, is promoted to command of H.M.S. Sophie ?, an old, slow brig unlikely to make his fortune. But Captain Aubrey is a brave and gifted seaman, his... Read Full Overview

This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against a thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of a life aboard a man-of-war are faultlessly... Read Full Overview

The beginning to the sweeping Aubrey/Maturin series and inspiration for the major new motion picture starring Russell Crowe. "The best sea story I have ever read."-Sir Francis Chichester