Patrick O’Brian Books

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A multi-award-winning English scribbler who has since died, Patrick O’Brian’s place of birth was Chalfont St Peter village upon Buckinghamshire in the UK. O’Brian was born in December 1914. Did you know that the penman’s birth name was Richard Patrick Russ? A deed poll enabled O’Brian to legally change his name in mid-1945, ostensibly to distance himself from his Second World War controversial occupations. O’Brian passed away in January 2000 in his mid-eighties. Patrick O’Brian’s occupation ranged from writing novel-length books and short stories, to undertaking translation projects. In matters books, O’Brian’s niche ranged from literature and fiction, to biographies and memoirs, to historical fiction books.

Order of Aubrey/Maturin Series

# Read Title Published Details
1 Master and Commander 1969 Description / Buy
2 Post Captain 1972 Description / Buy
3 H.M.S. Surprise 1973 Description / Buy
4 The Mauritius Command 1977 Description / Buy
5 Desolation Island 1977 Description / Buy
6 The Fortune of War 1978 Description / Buy
7 The Surgeon's Mate 1980 Description / Buy
8 The Ionian Mission 1981 Description / Buy
9 Treason's Harbour 1983 Description / Buy
10 The Far Side of the World 1984 Description / Buy
11 The Reverse of the Medal 1986 Description / Buy
12 The Letter of Marque 1988 Description / Buy
13 The Thirteen-Gun Salute 1989 Description / Buy
14 The Nutmeg of Consolation 1991 Description / Buy
15 The Truelove / Clarissa Oakes 1992 Description / Buy
16 The Wine-Dark Sea 1993 Description / Buy
17 The Commodore 1994 Description / Buy
18 The Yellow Admiral 1996 Description / Buy
19 The Hundred Days 1998 Description / Buy
20 Blue at the Mizzen 1999 Description / Buy
21 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (Short Story) 2004 Description / Buy

Order of Patrick O'Brian Standalone Novels

# Read Title Published Details
1 Caesar (Short Story) 1930 Description / Buy
2 Hussein 1938 Description / Buy
3 Testimonies 1952 Description / Buy
4 The Catalans 1953 Description / Buy
5 The Road to Samarcand 1954 Description / Buy
6 The Golden Ocean 1956 Description / Buy
7 The Unknown Shore 1959 Description / Buy
8 Richard Temple 1962 Description / Buy

Order of Patrick O'Brian Short Stories/Novellas

# Read Title Published Details
1 No Pirates Nowadays (Short Story) 2014 Description / Buy
2 Noughts and Crosses (Short Story) 2014 Description / Buy
3 Two’s Company (Short Story) 2014 Description / Buy

Order of Patrick O'Brian Short Story Collections

# Read Title Published Details
1 The Chian Wine 1974 Description / Buy
2 The Rendezvous and Other Stories 1994 Description / Buy
3 Collected Short Stories 1995 Description / Buy
4 No Pirates Nowadays and Other Stories: Three Nautical Tales 2014 Description / Buy
5 Beasts Royal: Twelve Tales of Adventure (Short Story) 2015 Description / Buy
6 The Uncertain Land and Other Poems 2019 Description / Buy

Order of Patrick O'Brian Non-Fiction Books

# Read Title Published Details
1 Men-of-War (Short Story) 1974 Description / Buy
2 Picasso 1976 Description / Buy
3 Joseph Banks 1987 Description / Buy

Patrick O'Brian Anthologies

# Read Title Published Details
1 Rough Water: Stories of Survival from the Sea 1998 Description / Buy
2 High Seas: Stories of Battle and Adventure from the Age of Sail 2002 Description / Buy
3 Great Modern Stories 2009 Description / Buy
4 Short Stories: The Thoroughly Modern Collection 2009 Description / Buy
+ Click to View all Anthologies
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Patrick O’Brian published his first literary work while still young. O’Brian’s debut novel, titled Caesar, was published in his teenage. The penman started writing on a serious note in mid-1940s. Even then his scope was limited to translating French content and was not famous till his penned his acclaimed series. In 1967, Patrick O’Brian started penning his most notable novel series. O’Brian’s big break came in his fifties, hot on the heels of the discovery of his series by a US publishing house.

Mentioning the name Patrick O’Brian conjures up the 21-book Aubrey and Maturin series. Even then there is a duology in his bibliography. There are about 104 editions of O’Brian’s first book in the serialized Aubrey and Maturin. The first edition was initially published in 1969, entitled Master and Commander; and this book is shelved under the fiction (especially historical fiction and naval fiction) and adventure genres.

The featured protagonists in Patrick O’Brian’s 1969 book Master and Commander are Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. Though fictitious characters serving in the Royal Navy in different capacities, both Aubrey and Maturin are aboard the then actual brig-sloop named HMS Sophie. On the one hand, Aubrey is a naval officer initially holding the rank of a captain but is promoted progressively until he becomes a rear-admiral. Aubrey is a courageous and brainy sailor. On the other hand, Maturin is an adept ship’s surgeon who doubles up as a spy and natural scientist; Maturin, who is of Irish descent, is daring, passionate, and perplexing.

Patrick O’Brian’s renowned Aubrey and Maturin series is set in the backdrop of the famed Napoleonic Wars that occurred between 1803 and 1815. Incidentally, the said wars are synonymous with military genius Napoleon Bonaparte. Aubrey and Maturin were looking forward to a duel but they buried the hatchet hard on the heels of Aubrey’s promotion to the position of a ship’s captain and who realized that he needed particularly Maturin’s surgical knowledge. Thus heralds Aubrey and Maturin’s friendship and professional working relationship that transcends naval battles in this award-nominated book.

Patrick O’Brian Awards

Patrick O’Brian has won many literary prizes. In 1970, O’Brian was nominated for the Man Booker Prize, thanks to his book Master and Commander. In 1995, O’Brian clinched the Heywood Hill Literary prize courtesy of his literary works. In 1997, the Dublin-based Trinity College Dublin proffered O’Brian with a honorary doctorate.

Patrick O’Brian Books into Movies

The first book in Patrick O’Brian’s series was adapted into a film. In the 2003 film named Master and Commander, the starring actors are Englishman Russell Crowe and New Zealand filmmaker Paul Bettany who portray Captain Jack Aubrey and surgeon Stephen Maturin, respectively.

Best Patrick O’Brian Books

These are the best books in Patrick O’Brian’s bibliography. The first is Master and Commander.

Post Captain: This is the second novel in the Aubrey and Maturin book series. Published in 1972, this book recounts the (mis)fortunes of the duo following the Treaty of Amiens after which peace prevails.

H.M.S. Surprise: This is the third installment in O’Brian’s serialized Aubrey and Maturin. Published in 1973, it features a financially unstable Jack Aubrey who is now commanding a ship named HMS Surprise in an expedition in the Indian Ocean. Aubrey sees a Napoleon fleet as his gateway to regaining his wealth.

Other Book Series You May Like

Readers who liked Patrick O’Brian’s series also liked these literary series. Just like O’Brian’s series, Dewey Lambdin’s 23-book “Alan Lewrie” series recounts the naval expeditions of protagonist Alan Lewrie. Sean Thomas Russell’s tetralogy, “Charles Hayden” series, features protagonist Charles Hayden, a Royal Navy captain. The “Lymond Chronicles” series, a sextet authored by Dorothy Dunnett, recounts the approval-seeking military exploits of a dishonored Sixteenth century Scottish polymath named Francis Crawford of Lymond.

When Does The Next Patrick O'Brian book come out?

Patrick O'Brian doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Uncertain Land and Other Poems and was released on March, 21st 2019. It is the newest book in the Patrick O'Brian Short Story Collections.

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