Take The Letter Of Marque (Aubrey & Maturin, #12) Edited By Patrick OBrian Presented In Text

this twelfth volume of the series, the Reverend Martin gives some advice on happy endings to an aspiring naval author: “When Mowett told me he meant to write a very ambitious piece called “The SeaOfficers Tragedy”, based on Captain Aubreys career, his victories and his misfortunes, I told him I hoped he would make it end happy.
“I cant possibly do that,” says he, “Since it is a tragedy, it must end in disaster, ” I begged his pardon for disagreeing, but I had the support of the greatest authority in the learned world, Aristotle himself, in saying that although tragedy necessarily dealt with doings of greatminded men or women, in a high and serious manner, it by no means necessarily ended unhappy.
”.

This passage felt like a wink from the author after all the vicissitudes Captain Jack Aubrey and Naval Surgeon/naturalist/spy Stephen Maturin endured in “The Reverse of the Medal”, for in this volume, our heroes face many more challenges and battles on land and sea, but surmount them all, more or less, to arrive at their own happy endings, at least for the moment.


I have enjoyed revisiting this series via audiobook and the wonderful readings by Patrick Tull, and this seems like a good place to take a break before beginning the next round of voyages, battles, misunderstandings, botanizing, and intrigue, with the South Pacific, Australia, and South America ahead.


Reread/The Letter of Marque is the twelfth book in the Aubrey/Maturin series, and I dont seem to be enjoying it any less as time and the series stretches on.


Here we catch up with Jack after hes been struck off the list of postcaptains for a crime on the stock exchange that he could never have understood enough to commit.
But hes not without a boat, The Surprise having been surreptitiously bought by his now rather minted best friend Stephen, and given a letter of marque to protect them from the Royal Navy in their new activity of privateering piracy with its best manners on display.


No longer full of pressed men and marines, the men who now serve Jack are all those who want to be there, recommended either by their past experiences of his command or drawn by the lure of the flashy prizes hes often been lucky to bring in.
And in the background, the English authorities are laying out the necessary plans to reinstate Jack should he do enough damage to the French to

justify their backpedalling.


Meanwhile, Stephen is still ministering to the ship in his role as doctor while gathering information about the enemy in his other, secret intelligence role.
All while pining over Diana, his erstwhile wife, and completely failing to notice that his servant is pilfering and then diluting what remains of his laudanum supplies.


Picking one of these books up is like slipping into a soothing warm bath, no matter whether the book depicts one of the more successful or miserable outings for Jack and Stephen.
Complete with a couple of rousing engagements, The Letter of Marque was a lovely catch up with my favourite literary couple.
In Vol. 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.


THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

sitelink booklikes. com/post/ While Captain Jack Aubrey is the heartandsoul main character of the series, he shares the stage with his unlikely friend Dr.
Stephen Maturin, the brain and introspection of these books, In The Letter of Marque Maturin takes center stage,

In the previous book Aubrey took a tough one on the chin, He spends much of this book trying to get his back, specifically going to daring and dangerous lengths to get himself reinstated on the Navy List after a stock market swindle lands him in a terrible predicament.


That's where the The Letter of Marque's physical action takes place, Maturin's predicament is more cerebral, He's trying to reconcile with his estranged wife, who left him upon hearing rumors that he was parading around Italy with a mistress.
Yes, he was spending a good deal of his time in the Mediterranean with another woman, but that all had to do with his intelligence work.
Unfortunately he was sent away on an even longer voyage and was never sure that the letter of explanation ever arrived in his wife's hands.
All of this is resolved through out The Letter of Marque, but resolved with all the painfully nuanced details that a battered relationship entails.
It honestly reminded me of such episodes I went through in my younger years and I did not enjoy the reminder.
It was all too well done,

Much of this book ties up the loose ends of the last book, That of course leaves the reader feeling satisfied in the end, however, it doesn't always translate to the most exciting of novels, not all the way through at least.


There's also a lot of contemplation, just a little too much at times, This draws more attention to Patrick O'Brian's everpresent digressions on any number of topics, natural science being one of the foremost.
Though I'd imagine readers who prefer authors to always "get to the point" would be annoyed, these meanderings are very enjoyable to me, except when they're paired with too much introspection all in the same book.
That happens occasionally throughout this series and it happens again here, which is why I've knocked this down one star.
Still in all, Jack Aubrey's personal victories and Stephen's struggle are engaging enough to keep The Letter of Marque well afloat!

My review of book, The Reverse of the Medal: sitelink goodreads. com/review/show

My review of book, The Thirteen Gun Salute: sitelink goodreads. com/review/show

Nine years after I started, I still marvel at these stories, They are in their own class, and delightful, They are also hilarious at times, Im not sure why I have never awarded one five before, but this one earns every one of them.


Following his unjust punishment in the previous novel, Aubrey is a privateer, But in this blisteringly fast story, he has two shockingly successful cruises that see his fortunes increase and his name restored, even if he is not yet back in the good graces of the Admiralty and returned to his rank.
The cutting out of a French manofwar from an enemy harbor is wicked good fun, and Maturins reconciliation with Diana is very pleasant.
This was a wonderful conclusion to sitelinkThe Reverse of the Medal, As Stephen notes at one stage in the book, Aristotle's definition of tragedy encompassed not only a great man being brought down but also the redemption and deliverance of a man who had been laid low.
If that's true, then this book, in company with the last, forms a truly great example of the same.
From the nadir of fortune that both Jack and Stephen experience in TRotM, LoM sees a complete reversal.
Jack is more successful than he's ever been, Stephen has Diana restored to him, and the book ends on one of the happiest and most contained notes that I think I've ever seen in an O' Brian novel.


The period sense was, as ever, perfect, If ever there was a literary universe in which I think I would like to live, then the AubreyMaturin universe is one of them.
The dialogue was a joy as ever, O' Brian is so good at using dialogue to show just how close a friendship Stephen and Jack have, just how much they mean to one another.
It's such a joyous thing that even Jack's little bit of banter at Stephen about the fact that the sea going out is, in fact, called the tide, succeeded in bringing a huge smile to my face.
I particularly enjoyed Stephen's conversation about how difficult it is to survive as an undergraduate at TCD.
Things, clearly, have not changed that much, g.