Editing Master and Commander

{{short description|1969 novel by Patrick O'Brian}}
{{about|the novel|the film|Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World{{!}}''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''}}
{{use British English|date=September 2017}}
{{use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name           = Master and Commander
| image          = Master & Commander cover.jpg
| caption        = First US edition (Lippincott, 1969)
| author         = [[Patrick O'Brian]]
| language       = English
| series         = [[Aubrey–Maturin series]]
| genre          = Historical novel, [[sea novel]]
| set_in         = 18 April 1800 – mid 1801{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}}
| publisher      = [[J. B. Lippincott & Co.|Lippincott]] (US),<ref name="LOCcat">{{Cite web |url=https://lccn.loc.gov/77085111 |title=Master and commander |website=Library of Congress Catalog |year=1969 |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> [[William Collins, Sons|Collins]] (UK)<ref name="BLcat">{{Cite web |url=http://primocat.bl.uk/F?func=direct&local_base=ITEMV&doc_number=010320844&con_lng=eng |title=British Library Item details |website=primocat.bl.uk | publisher = British Library |access-date=13 January 2018}}</ref>
| release_date   = 1969 (US),<ref name="LOCcat"/> 1970 (UK)<ref name="BLcat"/>
| media_type     = Print
| pages          = 384 (US),<ref name="LOCcat"/> 350 (UK)<ref name="BLcat"/>
| isbn           = 0-00-221526-8
| isbn_note      = First edition, Collins
| oclc           = 31728441
| preceded_by    =
| followed_by    = [[Post Captain (novel)|Post Captain]]
}}

'''''Master and Commander''''' is a [[nautical fiction|nautical]] [[historical novel]] by the English author [[Patrick O'Brian]], first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel [[Aubrey–Maturin series]], set largely in the era of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], on which O'Brian continued working until his death in 2000.

The novel is set at the turn of the 19th century. It focuses on two characters: the young Jack Aubrey, a [[Royal Navy]] lieutenant who has just been promoted to the rank of [[Commander (Royal Navy)|Master and Commander]], effectively a captain, and Stephen Maturin, a destitute physician and naturalist whom Aubrey appoints as his [[Ship's doctor|naval surgeon]]. They sail in HM [[sloop-of-war]] ''Sophie'' with [[first lieutenant]] James Dillon, a wealthy and aristocratic Irishman. The naval action in the Mediterranean is closely based on the real-life exploits of [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Lord Cochrane]], including a battle modelled after [[Action of 6 May 1801|Cochrane's spectacular victory]] in the brig [[HMS Speedy (1782)|HMS ''Speedy'']] over the vastly superior Spanish frigate ''[[Spanish frigate El Gamo|El Gamo]]''.

''Master and Commander'' met with mixed reviews on its first publication. Although UK sales were respectable enough for O'Brian to continue with the series, it was not initially a success in the US. In Britain and Ireland, however, voices of praise gradually became dominant. The novel has been lauded for having "a brilliant sense of period,"{{sfn|King|2000|p=213}} and for O'Brian's "easy command of the philosophical, political, sensual and social temper of the times [that] flavors a rich entertainment,"<ref name=Levin1969 /> putting the reader into the times in every aspect, from exceptional detail on the practices of the Royal Navy on sailing ships to the states of science, medicine, and society during the Napoleonic era.

In 1990, the US publisher [[W. W. Norton & Company]] re-issued the book and its sequels, which was an almost immediate success and drew O'Brian a new and large readership. O'Brian's biographer has placed the novel at the start of what he called the author's [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]], a series that has become perhaps the best-loved ''[[Novel sequence|book series]]'' of the 20th century.

==Setting==
The novel opens on 18 April 1800 and covers the period until mid 1801,{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}} the action being portrayed within the historical setting of [[War of the Second Coalition]], one phase in Britain’s long and continuing war against the French following [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]]'s victories in the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], including the British victory at the 1798 [[Battle of the Nile]]. Events in the novel also largely take place in the Mediterranean, with the French, British, and Spanish navies attempting to capture and disrupt the merchant shipping of their enemies. 

A significant subplot of the novel concerns the divided loyalties of two Irishmen, Dillon and Maturin, following their involvement in the unsuccessful [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]].{{sfn|King|2000|p=208}} Ireland was then under the domination of the [[Protestant Ascendancy]], and political dissent in the country had been increasing for some time. Irish Protestants bemoaned the lack of an effective political voice and the fact that much of the best agricultural land was held by [[absentee landlord]]s, while Irish Catholics, who formed the majority of the population, were excluded from political participation and respectable professions. The [[Society of United Irishmen|United Irishmen]] was formed in the late 18th century to tackle these grievances, leading ultimately to rebellion. In the rebellion's aftermath many disaffected Irishmen (such as Maturin in the novel) had left the island to seek their fortunes elsewhere.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}}

==Plot==
The novel opens in April 1800. Jack Aubrey, a shipless lieutenant wasting away in the [[Royal Navy]] port of [[Mahón|Mahon]] in [[Menorca|Minorca]], meets Stephen Maturin, a destitute Irish-[[Catalans|Catalan]] physician and [[Natural philosophy|natural philosopher]], at a concert at the Governor's Mansion. During the performance, Maturin elbows Aubrey who is beating the [[Bar (music)|measure]] "half a beat ahead". The men, both at personal low points, treat the matter as one of honour; they exchange names and anticipate a duel.

Later that evening, Aubrey learns that he has been promoted to the rank of [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] and has been given command of the 14-gun [[sloop-of-war]] HMS ''Sophie''. Meeting Maturin in the street the next day, Aubrey's joy overcomes his animosity and he invites Maturin to dine. The men discover a shared love of music, Aubrey playing the violin and Maturin the cello. On learning Maturin's profession, Aubrey asks him to join his ship. Although as a physician Maturin's expertise goes far beyond that normally expected of a [[Ship's doctor|naval surgeon]], he agrees.

''Sophie'' is sent to accompany a small convoy of merchant ships in the Mediterranean. Aubrey takes the opportunity to get to know his sailors and work them into a fighting unit with the aid of his new [[first lieutenant]], James Dillon, a wealthy and aristocratic Irishman. Dillon and Maturin recognize each other, having previously met (a fact they keep to themselves) as members of the [[Society of United Irishmen|United Irishmen]], a society dedicated to Irish [[home rule]] and [[Catholic emancipation]]. Dillon suffers a crisis of conscience when ordered to intercept an American ship thought to be harbouring Irish rebels, and he works to help them avoid capture.

Maturin, who has never been aboard a [[man-of-war]], struggles to understand nautical customs, and the crew explain to him (and to the reader) naval terminology and the official practice whereby [[prize money]] can be awarded for captured enemy vessels. Maturin is treated by the crew as a [[Landsman (rank)|landsman]], though without offence. As a [[Natural philosophy|natural philosopher]] he relishes the opportunity to study rare birds and fish.

His convoy duties complete, Aubrey is permitted by Admiral Lord Keith to cruise the Mediterranean independently, looking to capture French and Spanish [[wikt:merchantman|merchant]] vessels, at which he is very successful, taking many prizes. ''Sophie'' meets and defeats the much larger and better-armed ''Cacafuego'', a Spanish 32-gun [[Xebec|xebec-frigate]], though a number of the crew, including Dillon, die in the bloody action. A victory against such odds would normally bring official recognition, promotion, and significant prize money, but unfortunately for Aubrey his superior at Mahon is Captain Harte, with whose wife Aubrey has been having an affair. Harte ensures that Aubrey receives none of those things, though he cannot prevent Aubrey gaining a reputation within the Royal Navy as one of its great, young fighting captains.

On escort duty, ''Sophie'' is captured by a squadron of four large French warships, and the crew is taken prisoner. The French Captain [[Christy-Pallière]] is courteous; he feeds Aubrey well and tells him of his own cousins in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]. During the crew's confinement, the French are attacked by a British squadron in what becomes the [[First Battle of Algeciras]]. Several days later the officers are [[Parole#Prisoners of war|paroled]] to [[Gibraltar]] from where they are able to witness from afar the [[Second Battle of Algeciras|second battle]]. Aubrey faces a [[court-martial]] for the loss of his ship and is acquitted.

==Principal characters==
{{see also|Recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series}}
{{div col|content=
* [[Jack Aubrey]]: Royal Navy lieutenant, newly appointed [[Commander (Royal Navy)|Master and Commander]] of ''Sophie''.
* [[Stephen Maturin]]: Irish-[[Catalan people|Catalan]] physician, [[natural philosopher]] and musician, taken on as surgeon of ''Sophie.''
* Captain Harte:  Station commandant at [[Mahón|Port Mahon]].
* Molly Harte: Wife of the station commandant, lover of Aubrey.
* [[George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith|Lord Keith]]: Admiral in the Mediterranean, recently married to Queeney.
* [[Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith|Queeney]]: Wife of Lord Keith, in earlier days neighbour and tutor to the young Jack Aubrey.
* William Marshall: Master in ''Sophie''.
* Tom Pullings: Master's mate in ''Sophie''.
* William Mowett: Master's mate in ''Sophie''.
* Barret Bonden: [[Coxswain]] and captain of the maintop in ''Sophie''.
* Preserved Killick: Aubrey's personal steward
* Mr William Babbington: Midshipman in ''Sophie''.
* Mr James Dillon: First lieutenant in ''Sophie''.
* Captain [[George Heneage Lawrence Dundas|Heneage Dundas]]: Captain of the sloop ''Calpe'' and friend of Aubrey.
* Captain [[Jean-Anne Christy de la Pallière|Christy-Pallière]]: Captain of the French ship ''Desaix''.
* Admiral [[James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez|Sir James Saumarez]]: Rear Admiral of the squadron that succeeds in the [[Algeciras Campaign]].
}}

==Ships==
{{div col|content=
*'''British'''
**HM [[Sloop-of-war#Ship_sloop|Sloop]] ''Sophie'' – 14 gun brig sloop, modelled by O'Brian on [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane]]'s [[HMS Speedy (1782)|HMS ''Speedy'']]{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=335, 336}}
**{{HMS|Audacious|1785|6}} – ship of the line and flagship
**HMS ''Niobe'' – frigate
**HMS ''Pallas'' – frigate
**HMS ''Burford''
**{{HMS|Généreux}} – 74-gun third rate
**HMS ''Tartarus'' – bomb-ketch
**[[HMS Calpe (1800)|HMS ''Calpe'']] – brig sloop
*'''Spanish''':
**''Cacafuego'' – 32 gun [[xebec]] [[frigate]], modelled on the Spanish ship [[Spanish frigate El Gamo|El Gamo]]{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=85}}
*'''Norwegian''':
**''Dorothe Engelbretsdotter -'' [[wikt:merchantman|merchantman]]
*'''French''':
**''[[French ship Tyrannicide (1793)|Desaix]]'' – ship of the line
In addition, O'Brian names all of the British, French and Spanish ships present in the [[Algeciras Campaign]].
}}

== O'Brian's sources ==

===Background===
In an introductory ''Author's Note'' to the novel, O'Brian sets out his approach to historical accuracy, noting that historic records of naval battles are filled with "actions that few men could invent". He goes on to say, "That is why I have gone straight to the source for the fighting in this book ... and so when I describe a fight I have log-books, official letters, contemporary accounts or the participants' own memoirs to vouch for every exchange ... Yet, on the other hand, I have not felt slavishly bound to precise chronological sequence; ... within a context of general historical accuracy I have changed names, places and minor events". He considers that "authenticity is a jewel", and that "the admirable men of these times ... are best celebrated in their own splendid actions rather than in imaginary contests".<ref name="M&C">{{Cite book |title=Master and Commander |last= O'Brian |first= Patrick |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-00-649915-2 |location=London |at=Author's Note}}</ref>

The naval actions of the novel are closely based on the exploits of [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane]] (1775–1860), 10th Earl of Dundonald, a notoriously fiery naval captain and later admiral.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}}{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=103}} Cochrane's own ship, [[HMS Speedy (1782)|HMS ''Speedy'']], forms the basis for Aubrey's ''Sophie''.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=335, 336}}

Although Aubrey's exploits are historically-sourced, his personality is O'Brian's own invention and differs significantly from that of the real Cochrane,{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=9}} a Scot who could at times be rash, confrontational and disagreeable.{{sfn|King|2000|p=206}} The character of Maturin is likewise of O'Brian's devising,{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}} though it has been said that the author's own personality, attitudes, interests and even appearance are closely reflected in his character's persona.{{sfn|Brown|2006|pp=9, 274}}

===Specific events===
The capture in the novel of the Spanish ''Cacafuego'' by the vastly inferior ''Sophie'' is based on the [[action of 6 May 1801|real-life capture on 6 May 1801]] of the Spanish frigate ''[[Spanish frigate El Gamo|El Gamo]]'' by the British [[Sloop-of-war|brig-sloop]] [[HMS Speedy (1782)|HMS ''Speedy'']].<ref name = Cordingly>{{cite book |title=Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander |first=David |last=Cordingly |pages=3–4 |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2007 |location=New York |isbn=978-1-58234-534-5}}</ref>{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=85}} One of the most spectacular single-ship victories in British Naval history,{{sfn|Harvey|2000|p=51}} the ''[[El Gamo]]'' incident captured the public imagination and founded the reputation of the ''Speedy's'' commander, [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane]].{{sfn|Harvey|2000|p=49}} Like Aubrey in the book, however, Cochrane did not receive from the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] the promotion and prize money he might have expected from so spectacular a victory.{{sfn|Harvey|2000|p=51}}

The capture of ''Sophie'' by [[Jean-Anne Christy de la Pallière|Christy-Pallière]] of the ''[[French ship Tyrannicide (1793)|Desaix]]'' parallels the experience of Cochrane aboard the ''Speedy'', down to the detail of the real Christy-Pallière refusing to accept the vanquished captain's sword: "I will not accept the sword of an officer who has for so many hours struggled against impossibility".{{sfn|Harvey|2000|p=59}}

The exploit of deceiving a ship at night by attaching lights to a decoy was executed by Cochrane and was described in his ''Autobiography of a Seaman''.<ref name="Dundonald107">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_pVAAAAYAAJ |title=The Autobiography of a Seaman |last=Cochrane |first=Thomas |publisher=Richard Bentley |year=1860 |volume=I |location=London |page=107}}</ref> A similar exploit was reported to have been used by the French [[privateer]] [[Joseph Potier|Joseph-Marie Potier]] to escape a British frigate near [[Quiberon Bay]] in January 1809.<ref>{{cite book|title=Saint-Malo illustré par ses marins |trans-title=Saint Malo illustrated by its sailors |first=Charles |last=Cunat |author-link=Charles Cunat |publisher=Imprimerie de F. Péalat |year=1857 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1koAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA487 |language=fr |page=418}}</ref>

For the [[Algeciras Campaign]] O'Brian studied the dispatches of admiral [[James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez|Sir James Saumarez]] along with other contemporary reports of the battle.{{sfn|King|2000|p=207}}

==Publication history==
[[File:Master_&_Commander_cover_by_Geoff_Hunt.jpg|right|thumb|[[Geoff Hunt (marine artist)|Geoff Hunt]] cover used on reissues]]

===First US and UK publications 1969 / 70===
In the 1960s two of O'Brian's seafaring books for children, ''The Golden Ocean'' (1956) and ''The Unknown Shore'' (1959), caught the attention of a US publisher, [[J. B. Lippincott & Co.|J B Lippincott]], who were seeking an author to follow in the footsteps of [[C. S. Forester|C S Forester]], creator of the [[Horatio Hornblower|Hornblower]] series of novels.  Forester had died in 1966 and a year later, at the age of 53, O'Brian started work on ''Master and Commander''.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}}{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=273}} The novel was first published in the US by Lippincott in 1969.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=10}}

O'Brian's then UK publisher [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]], who had originally agreed to jointly commission the book,{{sfn|King|2000|p=205}} rejected it as too full of jargon. It was taken up and published by [[William Collins, Sons|Collins]] in 1970.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=273}}

The novel did respectably in Britain ("selling a most surprising number" according to O'Brian),{{sfn|O'Brian|1994|p=20}} but was not initially successful in the US.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=273}} O'Brian later commented, "I am sorry to say that the Americans did not like it much at its first appearance (they have changed their minds since, bless them)".{{sfn|O'Brian|1994|p=20}}

Lippincott persevered in the US with publication of the next two novels in the series, ''Post Captain'' (1972) and ''HMS Surprise'' (1973), though sales remained slow. A change of US publisher to [[Stein and Day]] for ''[[The Mauritius Command]]'' did not help, and US publications ceased with ''[[Desolation Island (novel)|Desolation Island]]'' in 1978.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=273}}{{sfn|Bennett|1994|p=150}}

===Norton US reissue 1990===
In 1989 Starling Lawrence, an editor with the US publisher [[W. W. Norton & Company|W W Norton]], borrowed a copy of ''[[The Reverse of the Medal]]'' from O'Brian's London literary agent to read on his flight home to New York. Lawrence persuaded Norton that in spite of the failed attempts of two previous US publishers ''Master and Commander'' and the subsequent novels were worth re-publishing.<ref name=Horowitz>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/18/specials/obrian-comesin.html |title=Patrick O'Brian's Ship Comes In |date=16 May 1993 |first=Mark |last=Horowitz |newspaper=The New York Times |department=Book Reviews |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> Norton's re-issued series (from 1990) was an almost immediate success and drew a new, large readership.{{sfn|Brown|2006|p=273}}

==Literary significance and criticism==
:''This section concentrates on reviews of this specific novel. For more general reviews of the series as a whole, see [[Aubrey–Maturin series#Literary significance and criticism|Aubrey–Maturin series literary significance and criticism]]''

===First US and UK publications 1969 / 70===
[[C. S. Forester|C S Forester]] having died just a few years earlier, some critics were left bewildered and disappointed by the complexity of O'Brian's creation after the predictability of the [[Horatio Hornblower|Hornblower]] series.{{sfn|Bennett|1994|p=159}} "Not, I think, memorable, at least in the Hornblower way" wrote the ''[[Irish Press]]'',<ref>Poole, H J ''[[Irish Press]]'', 21 January 1970, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=161}}</ref> while according to the ''[[Library Journal]]'', "Mourning Hornblower fans may prefer to read a good if disappointing new book rather than to reread one of the master's epics".<ref>Taylor, David C., ''[[Library Journal]]'', 15 December 1969, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=160}}</ref>

The reception of other critics was more positive. In the US, [[The New York Times Book Review|The ''New York Times Book Review'']] noted the author's "delightful subtlety", and his "easy command of the philosophical, political, sensual and social temper of the times [that] flavors a rich entertainment",<ref name=Levin1969>{{cite news |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/12/14/issue.html |newspaper=The New York Times |department=Book Reviews |url-access=registration |first=Martin |last=Levin |title=Master and Commander |date=14 December 1969 |access-date=13 February 2014}}</ref> while ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' said that the book was "A welcome treat for sea hounds who care more for belaying pins than ravaged bodices below decks".<ref>''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'', 1 October 1969, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=160}}</ref>

Several UK press reviewers were also impressed. The ''[[Sunday Mirror]]'' said "Nothing is glamourised. The press gangings, the squalor are all here....The battle scenes are tremendous...This is not secondhand [[C. S. Forester|Forester]], but a really fine piece of writing",<ref>''[[Sunday Mirror]]'', 18 January 1970, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=160}}</ref> while [[Benedict Nightingale]] writing in ''[[The Observer]]'' called the book "Dashing, well-timbered, pickled in the period, and with strong human tensions and cross-currents".<ref>[[Benedict Nightingale|Nightingale, Benedict]], ''Observer'', 18 January 1970, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=161}}</ref> According to [[Tom Pocock]] in ''[[London Evening Standard|The Evening Standard]],'' "It is as though, under Mr O'Brian's touch, those great sea-paintings at Greenwich had stirred and come alive".<ref>Pocock, Tom, ''[[London Evening Standard]]'', 20 January 1970, quoted in {{harvnb|Bennett|1994|p=161}}</ref>

The sailor [[Francis Chichester|Sir Francis Chichester]], recently returned from his 1967 single-handed voyage round the world, described the book as "the best sea story I have ever read",{{sfn|Ollard|1994|p=23}} a quote which the publishers adopted for use on the novel's front cover. Also used on the book's jacket in Britain was a heartfelt quote from the author [[Mary Renault]], "A spirited sea-tale with cracking pace and a brilliant sense of period. In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater".{{sfn|King|2000|p=213}}

===Later reviews===

As the series of novels expanded, single-volume reviews became less common and reviewers tended to prefer retrospectives of the entire series to date.{{sfn|Bennett|1994|p=160}} As one reviewer noted, "The best way to think of these novels is as a single 5,000-page book".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/12/19/the-wine-dark-seaby-patrick-obriannorton-261-pages/|title=The Wine-Dark Sea By Patrick O'Brian |first=Patrick T |last=Reardon |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=13 February 2015 |date=13 December 1993}}</ref>

Although ''Master and Commander'' and its immediate sequels had received at first a somewhat muted reception in the US, in Britain and Ireland the voices of praise continued to increase and gradually became dominant.{{sfn|Bennett|1994|pp=159–160}} By 2000, O'Brian's reputation was such that his American biographer [[Dean King]] was able to place ''Master and Commander'' at the start of what he called the author's magnum opus, a twenty-novel series that has become perhaps the best-loved ''[[Novel sequence|roman fleuve]]'' of the twentieth century: "[an] epic of two heroic yet believably realistic men that would in some ways define a generation".{{sfn|King|2000|p=207}}

Following O'Brian's death in 2000, [[Kevin Myers]] recalled in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' his first reading of this and the subsequent two novels in the series: "the most glorious literary mixture ever – Jane Austen meets Gray's Anatomy meets John Buchan meets Apothecaries' Gazetteer. The author's cast of characters is Dickensian in its scope, but of greater subtlety and sophistication in its portrayal."<ref name=Telegraph2000>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4719636/OBrian-the-most-Irish-Englishman.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121010926/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4719636/OBrian-the-most-Irish-Englishman.html |archive-date=21 November 2012 |first=Kevin |last=Myers |author-link=Kevin Myers |location=London |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |title=O'Brian: the most Irish Englishman |date=22 January 2000 |access-date=17 January 2018 }}</ref>

According to [[Richard Snow]] in 2004, the first meeting between Aubrey and Maturin (with which the novel opens) led to "the greatest friendship of modern literature". Snow quotes Fredric Smoler, professor of history and literature, in a [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] comparison: "It's like [[Prince Hal]] meeting [[Falstaff]]".<ref name="Snow2010">{{Cite book |title="Afterword by Richard Snow", in The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey |last=Snow |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Snow | publisher=HarperCollin |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-00-735843-4 |edition=Paperback  |location=London |pages=145–146}}</ref>

Writing in 2013, the author [[Nicola Griffith]] professed herself smitten: "In these books every reader who loves fiction both intellectually and viscerally will find something to treasure – and every writer something to envy. They will sweep you away and return you delighted, increased and stunned". She noted that while many reviewers have compared O'Brian to C S Forester, such comparisons are 'nonsense' – "This is Jane Austen on a ship of war, with the humanity, joy and pathos of Shakespeare".<ref name="Griffith">{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/12/01/246427056/a-skeptic-is-swept-away-by-the-bromance-at-sea-in-master |title=A Skeptic Is Swept Away by the Bromance-At-Sea In 'Master' |last=Griffith |first=Nicola |author-link=Nicola Griffith |website=NPR Books |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

==Film adaptation==
{{Main article|Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World}}

The 2003 [[Peter Weir]] film ''[[Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World]]'', starring [[Russell Crowe]] and [[Paul Bettany]], uses some of the characters, dialogue and events from the [[Aubrey–Maturin series]], but does not faithfully reproduce the plot of the books.<ref name=BrownWeb>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmssurprise.org/patrick-and-mary-obrian |title=Patrick and Mary O'Brian |website=The Gunroom of HMS Surprise |first=Anthony Gary |last=Brown |year=2014 |access-date=18 February 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Bennett |first=Stuart |editor-first=A. E. |editor-last=Cunningham |chapter=Four Decades of Reviews | pages= 149–171 |title=Patrick O'Brian: Critical Appreciations and a Bibliography |publisher=The British Library |location=Boston Spa|year=1994 |isbn=0-7123-1070-3 }}
*{{Cite book |title=The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book |last=Brown |first=Anthony Gary |publisher=MacFarland and Company |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7864-9385-2 | edition=2nd |location=Jefferson, NC }}
*{{cite book |last=O'Brian |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick O'Brian|editor-first=A. E. |editor-last=Cunningham |chapter=Black, Choleric & Married? | pages= 15–21 |title=Patrick O'Brian: Critical Appreciations and a Bibliography |publisher=The British Library |location=Boston Spa|year=1994 |isbn=0-7123-1070-3 }}
*{{Cite book |title=Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain |last=Harvey |first=Robert |publisher=Robinson |year=2000 |isbn=1-84119-398-4 |location=London }}
*{{Cite book |title=Patrick O'Brian: A life revealed |last=King |first=Dean |author-link=Dean King|publisher=[[Hodder & Stoughton]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-340-792558 |location=London }}
*{{cite book |last=Ollard |first=Richard |editor-first=A. E. |editor-last=Cunningham |chapter=The Jack Aubrey Novels: an editorial report | pages= 23–31 |title=Patrick O'Brian: Critical Appreciations and a Bibliography |publisher=The British Library |location=Boston Spa|year=1994 |isbn=0-7123-1070-3 }}

== Further reading ==
{{further|Aubrey–Maturin series#Further reading}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cannonade.net/map.php?Master_and_Commander Maps for ''Master and Commander''], in ''The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project''.
*[http://www.saignon.org/FINE%20BOOKS/PERPLEXED/HOME/Perp2004Home.htm Guide for the Perplexed by A G Brown]. Translations into English of foreign phrases within this and the other novels.
*[http://www.hmssurprise.org/ The Gunroom of HMS ''Surprise'']. General resources for the novels, including links, reviews and historical background.

{{PatrickOBriansWork}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Master And Commander}}
[[Category:1969 British novels]]
[[Category:Novels set during the French Revolutionary War]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1800]]
[[Category:Aubrey–Maturin series]]
[[Category:J. B. Lippincott & Co. books]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1801]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]