 Cover by Geoff Hunt for HMS Surprise | |
| Author | Patrick O'Brian |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Geoff Hunt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Aubrey-Maturin series |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Harper Collins (UK) |
Publication date | 1973 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) & Audio Book (Cassette, CD) |
| Pages | 416 pages (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-00-221316-8 |
| Preceded by | Post Captain |
| Followed by | The Mauritius Command |
HMS Surprise is the 1973 historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. It is third in the series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin.
Plot introduction edit
Plot summary edit
{{spoiler}}
Aubrey takes command of the frigate HMS Surprise, charged with carrying a British ambassador to the East Indies. Much of the novel deals with the ups and downs of Maturin's relationship with Diana Villiers. Jack's romance with Sophie Williams also progresses.
This book also describes Aubrey's first stint in command of, and provides the readers' first encounter with the Surprise herself. Although apparently based on the real Royal Navy frigate HMS Surprise, she appears as a ship on which Aubrey had served as a youth. (His initials remain carved in the mast.) The real HMS Surprise, however, entered the Royal Navy as a prize captured from the French in 1796, so that O'Brian would seem to have added some fifteen years to her age, taking her capture (which he mentions) back to the previous phase of Anglo-French hostilities which formed part of the war of American independence (1776-1783).
The Surprise becomes Aubrey's favourite ship, and appears in many other novels in the series.
On the return voyage the Surprise encounters a fleet of the East India Company, returning from China laden with goods. The fleet comes under attack from a French squadron, but Aubrey organizes a spirited defence from the merchant ships and bluffs the French into retreating. This episode reflects elements of the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15 February 1804, in which 16 merchant ships of the East India Company under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance, drove off a French squadron consisting of the Marengo (74 guns), Belle-Poule (40), Sémillante (36), Berceau (22) and Aventurier (16), commanded by Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois. (Another fictional account of this incident appears in Newton Forster; or, the Merchant Service by Captain Frederick Marryat.)
Characters in "HMS Surprise" edit
- Jack Aubrey - Leutenant in the Royal Navy and appointed Captain of HMS Surprise.
- Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack and intelligence officer.
- Sophie Williams - Jack's love interest
- Mrs. Williams - Sophie mother
- Diana Villiers - Stephen's love interest
- Tom Pullings – master's mate in Lively
- William Mowett – master's mate in Lively
- William Babbington – midshipman in Lively
- James Dillon – first lieutenant in Lively
Ships in "HMS Surprise" edit
The British edit
- HMS Surprise - frigate
The Spanish edit
- * n.b. were real ships during the period depicted.
Major themes edit
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2010) |
{{endspoiler}}
Allusions/references to other works edit
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science edit
Literary significance & criticism edit
- "His books can absorb and enthral landlubbers like myself who do not even know the difference between a jib-boom and a taffrail." [1]
Reviews edit
Release details edit
- 1973, UK, Collins (ISBN 0002213168), Pub Date ? ? 1973, hardback (First edition)
- 1973, USA, Lippincott (ISBN ???), Pub date ? ? 1973, hardback (1st American edition)
Editions edit
- W. W. Norton & Company; Hardcover Reprint edition (1994) (ISBN 0393037037)
- Thorndike Press; Largeprint hardcover edition (2000) (ISBN 0786219343)
- Harper Collins; reprint paperback edition (2002) (ISBN 0006499171)
- Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged Audio CD edition (2004) (ISBN 078618597X)
- Fontana; Paperback edition (1976) (ISBN 0006141811)
- Recorded Books, LLC; Unabridged Audio edition narrated by Patrick Tull
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2010) |
Sources, references, external links, quotations edit
- Richard O'Neill (2003). Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World. Running Press. ISBN 0762415401.
- Dean King (2001). A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales. Henry Holt. ISBN 0805066152.
- Dean King (2001). Harbors and High Seas: Map Book and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian. Henry Holt. ISBN 0805066144.
- Brian Lavery (2003). Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian. Conway Maritime. ISBN 0851779468.
- Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, Lisa Grossman Thomas (2000). Lobscouse and Spotted Dog: Which Is a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels. W W Norton & Co Ltd. ISBN 0393320944.
- David Miller (2003). The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-Pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty's Royal Navy. Running Press Book Publishers. ISBN 0762416521.
- A.E. Cunningham (Editor) (1994). Patrick O'Brian: A Bibliography and Critical Appreciation. British Library Publishing Division. ISBN 0712310711.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help)
Footnotes edit
- ^ Webster, Valerie (19 January 1974). "Review of HMS Surprise". Scotsman.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)