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Master And Commander by Patrick O'Brian

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Here is the maiden voyage of O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series, which follows the unique friendship between Captain Aubrey, R.N., and Stephen Maturin, ship’s surgeon and intelligence agent.

Master and Commander is a classic historical naval tale set during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s. First published in 1969, the storyline is based on Lord Cochrane, an infamous British naval officer and radical politician of the Napoleonic era. Cochrane was dismissed form the Royal Navy for stock fraud, and went on to serve rebel uprisings in Chile, Brazil and Greece. Capt. Aubrey's adventures share some parallels with those of his prototype.

Receiving many compliments from historians and literary critics and with a large popular following, Master and Commander has been reprinted a number of times.

O'Brian renders in riveting detail the life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson’s navy: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the roar of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.

“Earphones Awards winner Simon Vance juggles multiple characters, accents, and dramatic and comedic scenes with aplomb... Vance's warm, welcoming voice captures colorful characters, entertaining relationships… Readers in search of a handful of excellent companions with whom to spend many enjoyable hours will be hail and well met.”
—AudioFile