The Commodore cover art

The Commodore

Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 17

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About this listen

Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances. For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, her house being looked after by the widowed Clarissa Oakes.

Much of The Commodore takes place on land, in sitting rooms and in drafty castles, but the roar of the great guns is never far from our hearing. Aubrey and Maturin are sent on a bizarre decoy mission to the fever-ridden lagoons of the Gulf of Guinea to suppress the slave trade. But their ultimate destination is Ireland, where the French are mounting an invasion that will test Aubrey's seamanship and Maturin's resourcefulness as a secret intelligence agent.

The subtle interweaving of these disparate themes is an achievement of pure storytelling by one of our greatest living novelists.

©1994 Patrick O'Brian (P)2014 Audible, Ltd Action & Adventure Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Sailing
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Flawless and creative reading of an uneven story. While profound knowledge of Napoleonic marine operation is impressive , the plot, pacing and character portrayal were all uneven.

Atmospheric

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fascination insight to the Royal Navy tackling the slave trade. the Gold Coast description is vivid

Gold Coast story

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Wonderfully written as one expects and the narrations brings the action to life.
I have read Naval fiction for 50 years or more, only recently listening to Audible books and find the experience colours the pleasure of the stories; so well known; anew.

Superb...!

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Probably the best in the series . High adventure and a happy ending .Very good indeed!

Excellent

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Good stuff and a wonderful narrator.
I can feel seasick on a boating pond despite all my seafaring ancestry so much of the pleasure of PO’s work is a vivid experience of the sea.

Excellent as a,l ways.

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