The Letter of Marque

Picking up exactly where

The Reverse of the Medal (Vol. Book 11) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels)

left off – Jack Aubrey drummed out of the service, the Surpise decommissioned, _The Letter of Marque_ serves as the second half of the tale in a much more direct way than the previous books in the series. As such, many lose ends are tied up and O’Brian will (I assume) take readers in another direction with the following book.

Keeping a reader’s interest twelve books into a series is no easy feat, but O’Brian makes it look easy. Readers already know both Aubrey and Maturin quite well (having served and sailed with them literally around the world and in dozens of engagements), yet the characters remain fresh as they evolve and grow. Aubrey of course is terribly distraught and troubled after his humilating discharge from the service; even when an opening is made for him to reenter if he only were to ask for a pardon, he adamantly refuses such is the strength of his conviction. To ask for a pardon would be to admit he had done something wrong in the first place. Such characterization is one reason of several why the books are so popular. Another is the exquisite detail of O’Brian’s descriptions of naval warfare – in _The Letter of Marque_, Aubrey’s luck holds again in an absolutely riveting (and bold) engagement. I hesitate to say more, lest I spoil elements of the plot.

The real heart of the story isn’t the battle or the challenges and problems Aubrey faces – it is the closeness between Maturin and Aubrey and the gradual depth of those characters close them: Sophie, Diana Villiers, and Aubrey’s children. (The very thought of precious 8-year old twins running around and yelling at one another “you swab!” and “avast, you whoreson!” still puts me in stitches.) These characters and the men with whom Aubrey and Maturin have served with, are becoming more and more real with each successive installment of the series. Highly recommended reading.

“Letter of Marque” is 12th in the 20 novel Aubrey-Maturin series, featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and his companion ship surgeon Stephen Maturin, set in the early 1800s. “Letter of Marque” one a episode in a grand epic, and as such the plot is of secondary importance.

SUMMARY
Jack Aubrey has been dismissed from the Royal Navy and is in low spirits. However, Stephen Maturin, now rich by inheritance, purchases the frigate “Surprise” and a “letter of Marque”, i.e., an authorization to operate as a privateer. However, Stephen is still in the intelligence service, and the resulting missions are a mixture of intelligence collecting and profit making. The privateering goes well making Jack wealthy and popular. Later Stephen journeys to Sweden and is reconciled with his wife, Diana. In the meantime, partly as a result of the death of Jack’s father, Jack acquires a seat in Parliament, and sufficient influence to be given assurance that he will soon be reinstated in the Royal Navy.

COMMENTS
“Letter of Marque” is a typical installment in the saga, filled with fascinating characters, battles, sea lore, and insights into early. There is virtually no mystery or suspense, but rather high adventure. Many men will wish that Stephen simply divorce and forget Diane, but of course, that’s easier said than done.

THE VERDICT
I have lost track of how many times I have read the entire series start to finish– somewhere between six and ten times, and I look forward to re-reading the series again and again. This is one of the grand classics to purchase in hardcover, and to bequeath to your grandchildren.

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In the last few months I have taken to listening to O’Brian rather than reading him. And, I hasten to add, I have read through the canon twice! Listening to O’Brian’s words rather than reading them, has taken me to a completely new level of appreciation. Tull is superb.

I listen to the novels in whatever order I can find the audiobooks available from my public library. I did begin with “Master and Commander” via a purchase of same (and with John Lee), but I cannot afford now to buy my own tapes of every novel so have taken to borrowing same from my library. I listen to the audiobooks on tape cassettes, and do so either while in the yard gardening (a sometimes rather boring job) or whilst driving about town (an always tedious and boring occupation!). Whilst doing the latter I am surely depriving my classical music station of one of its staunchest listeners!

Because I listen to whatever novel I can find at the time, I have been listening in no particular order. One time I may be listening to “Desolation Island” and another time, as of late, it may be “Letter of Marque”. And I have by no means listened to more than 4 or 5 books yet. But this presents no real problems as far as comprehension is concerned because I have read the canon twice over. Athough I do have to stop sometimes and figure out just what has happened already and what has yet to happen.

In any event, I am listening to rather than reading O’Brian. And, the professional narrator, as I have already mentioned, must be able to dramatize the books, with different accents, with a range of emotional tones, with dramatic pauses, and so forth. These were not things that I did when I was reading the books silently to myself. As a result, I am more and more taken with O’Brian’s mastery. And I often find myself chuckling over some droll bit which did not elicit the same while only reading it. I also often find myself marveling yet again over O’Brian’s complete mastery as a writer, as an unabashed story-teller.

The way that he was able to weave all of those 20 books together is simply astounding. It is as remarkable as what we are told of Mozart’s scores, namely that they are all of one piece, having seemed to be simply taken down as dictation from on high. (I do know from seeing “21” that Patrick did in fact cross things out, etc.). He cannot have had the whole canon figured out in his mind in advance, and yet it seems that way.

How he is able to bring in and out of the tales various characters, but in ways that are never contrived. His ability to write of naval technical terms so off-handedly and casually, as if it is as second nature to him as they would have been to Jack. And, apparently able to do so without ever having had much personal experience with sailing vessels himself. It often makes me wonder if O’Brian wasn’t a ‘square-rigged sailor’ in some previous incarnation, and now he has somehow tied his conscious mind back into that former life. And, at other times, his writing is pure literary lyricism, such as, in LOM, when he tells us about Steven’s state of mind during the days he was semi-unconscious after his fall from the tower. That bit of writing is the best of the best!

So, as it was often put, in the novels, O’Brian’s writing “was the completest thing”.

UPDATE: I have now spent the last year since this review in buying each set of tapes in their turn and have now listened to the whole 20 novels canon – and all by my very favorite narrator Patrick Tull (excepting Master and Commander).

What can one say about O’Brian’s 21 volumes containing the adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, the real naval battles harvested from the Admiralty archives and other prime sources of the time, the shades of Cochran and Joseph Banks in the seamanship and natural scientific endeavours (Ah – unintentional pun!)? All one can say is that they are just as riveting the second time through as they were the first, and one sees more the second time so gets more excited. Bedtime reading at it’s best – anytime reading at its best, but so difficult to put down when it’s time for lights out. One lives on the sea, on the floating village that is the ‘Surprise’ and in court martials, prisons, ports, and the far-flung places where spying, ‘botanising,’ doctoring and fighting occur. The letter of Marque is a poignant story of deep loyalty, deep friendship and some tremendous cliffhangers. Don’t miss it. It’s great, as are all of O’Brian’s books in this series.

This is my third time of reading the Jack Aubrey series by Patrick O’Brian.
Originally, I just wanted some background reading for the Napoleonic period that wasn’t soldiers! I borrowed the set from the local libraries, finding myself quite hooked after the first one. I can’t pretend to understand all the nautical terms, but they don’t detract from the story-line and the characterization, especially of the two main characters, “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, who is working his way up the hierarchy of the British Navy and his friend and ship’s surgeon (and sometime spy) Steven Maturin.
The second time round I bought all the books, which I am now passing on as I get them on my Kindle!
Each book stands alone, but I would urge any reader to start with the first to enjoy them fully.