Synopsis
This 20th volume in O'Brian's beloved Aubrey/Maturin series finds Jack back in command of his first ship, the Surprise. Faced with the desertion of half his crew, the frustrations of peacetime, and an accident at sea, he must also deal with the presence of a young aristocrat midshipman. Meanwhile, Stephen, newly widowed and in the midst of his naturalist pursuits, finds an unexpected second romance in a mangrove swamp. Finally, the two are off to Chile to help in the fight for independence from Spain.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2000-03-01 | | Read by: | David Case | | Narrated by: | David Case | | Edition Description: | Unabridged |
| Size | | Height: | 5.3 in | | Width: | 5.8 in | | Thickness: | 2.0 in | | Weight: | 13.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Now that the Napoleonic Wars are over, frigate captain Jack Aubrey faces desertion, near sinking, and brawls with British sailors--all before he reaches his next destination, Chile--where he will help the fledgling country break free of Spain and takes on some notable passengers.
Industry Reviews
"Escape at its most intelligent and demanding."
Nolan
"The book contains the usual blend of nautical detail and political intrigue, savage battles and naturalists' musings, all ratified by O'Brian's seemingly effortless ability to deploy the vocabulary and idioms of the time."
Kellman
"After a spell in the doldrums O'Brian has presented his readers with a shining jewel. 'BLUE AT THE MIZZEN is an intricate, multifaceted work--one of those rare novels that actually bear up under close scrutiny....There is nothing in this century that rivals Patrick O'Brian's achievement in his chosen genre. His novels embrace with loving clarity the full richness of the 18th-century world. They embody the cruelty of battle, the comedy of mens' lives, the uncertain fears that plague their hearts; and yet, not far away, is the vision of an ideal existence."
New York Times Book Review - Amanda Foreman (12/05/1999)
"[A]ccuracy and good research cannot explain the wild popularity of O'Brian's historical novels of naval derring-do. He has achieved best- sellerdom because his vast and astonishing novels carry the reader far beyond things maritime, deeply into every imaginable aspect of life in the early 19th century. His authority--in everything from where in London debtors were immune from arrest, to surgery, music, food, politics, speech and drawing room niceties--is so clearly absolute and undoubted that this extraordinary series paradoxically outperforms any modern cyber-effect as a virtual-reality time machine....BLUE AT THE MIZZEN finds O'Brian remarkably unimproved from the first book, which is to say in top form..."
San Francisco Chronicle Book Review - Peter Nichols (12/19/1999)
"It will please many Aubrey aficionados to find him doing what he does best: commanding that most efficient of weapons, the British frigate of war, with his customary vigour and élan....I found this latest as good as any (excepting MASTER AND COMMANDER) O'Brian has done."
Times Literary Supplement - Derrek Hines (11/12/1999)
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