The Letter of Marque

This extra influence is enough for him to receive private assurances from Lord Melville , First Lord of the Admiralty, that he will indeed be restored to the Navy List as soon as the time is right. Maturin, in possession once more of Diana's magnificent Blue Peter diamond, decides to take it to her in Sweden. He sails part of the way on the old Leopard , now sadly reduced to a lowly transport ship, before re-joining the Surprise. He meets his wife Diana in Stockholm and is unsurprised to learn that the letter he sent to her from Gibraltar via Wray, accounting for his supposed infidelity, was never delivered.

She also tells him she has not been unfaithful with Jagiello, and has been supporting herself by ascending - whilst mounted on a small Arab horse - in a hot-air balloon before an audience.

Maturin is seriously injured in a fall after taking his usual dose of laudanum to soothe himself after their initial meeting, unaware that his tolerance has been reduced by Padeen's actions. Diana nurses him back to health and they become reconciled once more. When the Surprise returns from a trip to Riga to buy poldavy, Maturin hears from Martin about Padeen's laudanam addiction, discovered after he was caught siphoning laudanum from one of the carboys and replacing the tincture with brandy.

Stephen is well enough to be finally transported back to the ship, accompanied by Colonel Jagiello's escort, and Diana embarks with him and Jack for home. Whilst in Stockholm , Stephen visits an apothecary's shop to buy laudanum. He inquires about the coca or cuca leaf from Peru and the apothecary replies, 'It is said to dissolve the gross humours and do away with appetite. He carries the leaves in a pouch and lime in a small silver box. When he feels the need for it, he simply rolls the leaves into a ball and pops them into his cheek with lime.

Of course, I'm returning to this series after a very long break, and I'm glad that I did. Of course, that's the wrong approach.

1. Quattro Caterine e un professore (Italian Edition)!
2. Ghosts of Winterbrooke (Paranormal Possession).
3. Silver and Blood (Zania Corthinn series Book 1)?

They don't suffer in comparison at all. They are completely different animals. To read them for the thrill of clever plot twists that have been deviously woven into eight massive volumes is both pointless and a bit stupid, and I'm glad now that I've achieved this perspective, because the pleasures of O'Brian's novels are in some ways richer than Dunnett's, for all that Dunnett will always edge out O'Brian as one of my favourite writers.

Jack Aubrey is in a sorry state at the start of The Letter Of Marque, struck off the naval lists after a trumped-up charge, he is morose, short-tempered and depressed. Stephen Maturin has purchased The Surprise, however, and with the titular letter and a crew half of old naval hands and half of doughty pirates, they set out to restore Jack's fortunes. The aforementioned uniformity of excellence of these novels tends to render each succeeding novel susceptible to accusations of sameness.

Certainly there is progression. Each book is a chapter in the ongoing history of our heroes' friendship and careers. They age and change in circumstances and temperament. There are voyages, there are battles, there are some exchanges of intelligence, observations of flora and fauna, and occasional visits to hearth and home and family, where Jack can blunder cheerfully and Stephen can mope for his estranged wife.

The story develops, the characters grow, the world opens up around them, a world so fully and perfectly realised that we come to understand that what we mistook for sameness is, in fact, recognition and comfort and familiarity. Each book gives exactly what it sets out to give, and so long as we don't mistake it for something it's not, we can fully enjoy them in all their warmth and generosity. XI of Robert's Adventures in Napoleonic Naval Literature, the protagonist found himself wearied and despondant, wondering whether it was "worth it" to go on. It was nice to have Aubrey and Maturin for company while I was too anxious to sleep, in any event.

This is quite a sombre outing for pair, as Jack has been struck off the naval lists and is captaining a privateer that Stephen bought to cheer him up. Nonetheless, there are delightful moments of levity as well as thrilling sea battles. Oct 24, Karla rated it really liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. I loved the journeys that both Jack and Stephen made in this. Jack starts out in the depths of depression when his career has been wrecked on the reef of a scandal not of his own making well, not entirely , and Stephen is suffering from a marital melancholy which he's medicating with laudanum and coca leaves.

Jack's redemption is made possible by Stephen coming to his rescue with a ship and a letter of marque, and Stephen finally reunites with the fickle Diana Villiers after a long separation a I loved the journeys that both Jack and Stephen made in this. Jack's redemption is made possible by Stephen coming to his rescue with a ship and a letter of marque, and Stephen finally reunites with the fickle Diana Villiers after a long separation and suspicions.

It was a quieter book than most, one of those in the series that have only a battle or two and most of the action is character-based and dialogue-driven.

I love Sophy's faithfulness to Jack - her "good Navy wife" cheer - and looked forward to the domestic scenes with his kids and crabby mother-in-law. Stephen was his usual mix of charm and gloomth. IRL, I'd want to slap him silly and pry the coco leaves out of his hands, but as O'Brien writes him, he's such a marvelously flawed hero.

The Letter of Marque (Aubrey & Maturin, #12) by Patrick O'Brian

I read the last 10 pages instead of listening to the rest of the audiobook, and it went pretty well. I'd always been afraid that it wouldn't scan as well in the written word, but maybe one day I'll grab a volume when I'm searching for my next dead-tree read. Both Jack and Stephen face down their personal demons. In Jack's case, his susceptibility to land sharks has caused him to get involved in a scam that ultimately gets him stripped of his Navy commission.

It will take a lot of luck for him to get reinstated. Fortunately, he is not called "Lucky Jack Aubrey" for nothing. Also, he is in command of a privateer full of eager and able seamen.

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For Stephen, it's his long-term opium habit. He is not addicted, of course. When his self-medi Both Jack and Stephen face down their personal demons. When his self-medication finally gets him into big trouble, a brother physician prohibits the use of opium. This is a problem for Stephen, until he remembers about his supply of Peruvian coca leaves. Neither Jack nor Stephen would have survived these ordeals if not for their mutual friendship, the loyalty of their shipmates, and the devotion of their wives each in her own very different way.

It also helps them to have friends in high places. One thing I really appreciate about Patrick O'Brian is his astounding gift for showing rather than telling. Sep 25, C. I'm profoundly in love with Diane Villiers. Steve Maturin's estranged wife. Captain Jack Aubrey has been struck off the naval list because of enemy agents framing him for a stock exchange crime he did not commit. Many know he has been framed and the enemy agents guilty of the entrapment have fled the country. Therefore, Jack Aubrey is sailing the ship as a Letter of Marque - a privateer.

He is still fighting for his country and trying to clear his name and win reinstatement back into the Royal Navy. I can't wait to start on the next one. The usual, brightly colored Aubrey and Maturin high-seas fun, leaven with the sobering hash each makes of his health and personal life. They have the whole world helping them into their personal infernos, but the fault lies not in their stars but in themselves. Friends and family--and each other--bear them through as usual on a freshening breeze and the promise of yet greater adventures.

Oct 28, Judith Johnson rated it it was amazing. Well, I love e'm all, but this is one of my faves! This is now my third time reading through this brilliant series and I am reminded again how beautifully written and how wonderfully, addictively enjoyable they are. Stephen, meanwhile, sets about repairing his marriage to Diana while succumbing to his laudanum addiction. Patrick O'Brian is steeped in the period of the early 19th Century and his knowledge of the language, manners, politics, social mores and naval matters of the time is deep and wide.

Combined with a magnificent gift for both prose and storytelling, it makes something very special indeed. The books are so perfectly paced, with some calmer, quieter but still engrossing passages and some quite thrilling action sequences. O'Brian's handling of language is masterly, with the dialogue being especially brilliant, but also things like the way his sentences become shorter and more staccato in the action passages, making them heart-poundingly exciting. There are also laugh-out-loud moments and an overall sense of sheer involvement and pleasure in reading.

I cannot recommend these books too highly. They are that rare thing; fine literature which are also books which I can't wait to read more of. The line of battle ships back then were the most sophisticated weapons of their time, handled by a combination of manpower and machine which was uniquely specialised. But the ships and the men who sailed them stood on the shoulders of giants, and what it is harder to find in any character study is the full shape of that giant.

But considering the immense efforts and expenditure that went into launching these vessels, the actual business of fighting made up only the tiniest portion of what went into putting all those men out there. Tens of men might die on a voyage but how many died, how many suffered, before they could even leave port? And yet those short, incredibly violent engagements between over-crowded, over-engineered floating fortresses could have consequences far beyond the range of their guns.

You might think that the new context of a private military endeavour might enable a certain amount of commentary on what has, until now, been a relatively settled state of affairs. But for Jack Aubrey, the transition from public servant to private master is remarkably smooth. Captain Jack Aubrey has turned privateer, with his old friend Stephen Maturin stumping up the required cash to buy the Surprise and to pay his crewmates to come along.

The first involves a Spanish ship full of quicksilver; the second a daring raid on a French frigate moored in an unfriendly port. But since his victories bring sudden popular acclaim, his upset soon seems like more of an inconvenience than a threat. As so often is the case, for the most part he is simply too busy to worry about it very often. Even the sudden death of his father gives him little cause for grief here. In the mean time, the book is full of incident.

Letter of marque

It is all good-natured, upbeat stuff, even though it is peppered with strange nuggets of darkness. His servant Padeen begins stealing it from his cabin, and making up the absence in the flasks with brandy. Being that Padeen is so large and somewhat slow, nobody seems to notice him walking around stoned on the stuff. Emotion is difficult; confrontation is difficult; settled routine and lasting relationships are difficult.

Better to sail onward. Better to break it all up, with violence if you have to. But this book also does something strange and new for the series. There is throughout this recurring image of a hot air balloon. Apparently people are talking about balloons all the time in A balloon begins to feel like an animating spirit of the book. Second-hand reports of the experience feel like dispatches from another world: There is simple, penetrating imagery here that has all the feeling of a Magritte painting: And as they soared towards this absolute purity of sky so its imminent threat, half-perceived at first, filled him with a horror beyond anything he had known.

Diana was wearing her green coat again and at some point she must have turned up the collar, for now its red underneath made a shocking contrast with the extreme pallor of her face, the pinched white of her nose and the frosted blue of her lips. Think back to the first book in this series and it seems inconceivable that something so otherworldly could have a place here. After being falsely accused and convicted of a complicated investment scheme, Jack Aubrey has been cast out of the service. He's been in the Royal Navy nearly all of his life, and the separation breaks his heart.

In hopes of moderating his misery, his particular friend Stephen Maturin buys the Surprise and secures a letter of marque for the ship. Aubrey can captain the Surprise once more, but this time as a privateer. It is acutely painful to him, but leads to one of his greatest professional tr After being falsely accused and convicted of a complicated investment scheme, Jack Aubrey has been cast out of the service. It is acutely painful to him, but leads to one of his greatest professional triumphs. Stephen, meanwhile, finally meets face-to-face with Diana once more. Everything about this book was beautiful and perfect and much-longed for.

The only flaw was that the voice the narrator gives Diana Villiers is cloying and fake, and it nearly ruined my enjoyment of her scenes with Stephen. But not quite, for nothing could take away my adoration for the slow, weird ways they reconcile with each other. While I defer in advance to any feminist or intersectional analysis from Wealhtheow whenever she gets around to this one, I enjoyed it perhaps more than anything in the series since H. Patrick O'Brian was hitting on all cylinders here.

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The Aubrey-Maturin saga continues to gain depth as a remarkable piece of fictional biography, combining naval history, music, natural history, soap opera, politics, humor and rousing adventure. After subjecting his characters to terrible difficulties in The Reverse of the Medal , the present book offers a rather more upbeat story.

Some of this I read, and some I listened to Patrick Tull's wonderful reading. For me, the humor comes through more str Patrick O'Brian was hitting on all cylinders here. For me, the humor comes through more strongly in the audiobook, with Tull's droll characterizations as a good vehicle for O'Brian's dry and understated ironic wit. This was a hugely enjoyable page-turner. Feb 17, Susan rated it it was amazing. I love their language and the humor, which is so understated you have to be prepared for it.

These characters are so honorable and loyal to each other and their status in life that you can't help but admire them as they go through these adventures. The first book, Master and Commander was a movie with Russel Crowe and it is a great start to see if you will like this series. Full of English Navel history, you can't help but learn something at the same time. Apr 15, Cherie rated it it was amazing Shelves: The seamen and ships and stories of the battles are fascinating and the characters so well written.

This story, back in the Surprise was no exception. A different Jack Aubrey, now out of the service, but a compelling sea voyage and prizes for all at the end. I am happy to leave them until - next time. Oct 30, Josie B. I listened to the audio book read by Patrick Tull. He does a fantastic job bringing the charactors alive. I am totally hooked on this series now.

• Begegnung (German Edition).
• Bispecific Antibodies.
• The Deep End.

Jun 12, Richard Due rated it it was amazing. O'Brian is brilliant at making me think one thing is going to happen, and then have something completely different happen instead. I marinai di Shelmerston riempiono le file dell'equipaggio oltre ai vecchi noti. Jack rimane un comandante formidabile, alla prima uscita in mare con la Surprise equipaggiata come vascello da guerra di corsa, cattura la Spartan fregata americana e riporta in patria i mercantili che la Spartan aveva catturato, i cui carichi di argento vivo valgono una fortuna; senza ammiragli sulle spalle con cui dividere il bottino, Jack risolve in un colpo solo i suoi problemi finanziari.

E' il colpo della sua carriera da privato, oltre alla Diane, riporta in patria i due mercantili e le barche cannoniere ormeggiate in porto assieme al bersaglio principale della spedizione congiunta.