The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book - by Anthony Gary Brown (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: Persons, animals, ships and cannon in the Aubery-Maturin sea novels of Patrick O'Brian. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999. With new foreword.

Book Synopsis

Now in its second edition, this expanded work catalogs every person, animal, ship and cannon mentioned by name in the 21 books of Patrick O'Brian's series on the maritime adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. The novels, renowned for their "far-ranging web of wit and allusion," teem with thousands of characters and ships, both imaginary and historical. From Master and Commander to 21: The Unfinished Voyage, this book distinguishes the fictional from the factual, making a useful series companion for the casual reader and the most ardent fans. Each of the more than 5,000 alphabetized entries provides a reference to the novels and chapters in which the topic appears. Additionally, biographical notes on the historical figures are included, with sources provided in an annotated bibliography.

Review Quotes

"any library serving Patrick O'Brian fans will want this title"-Booklist; "excellent"-ARBA; "I thought Anthony Gary Brown's companion to the Aubrey-Maturin novels as indispensable as a mainmast or a compass for any reader who would put to sea in their company"-Lewis Lapham, Harper's Magazine; "what an astonishing piece of work it is! And a valuable one, too. I am very glad to have [this] book to draw on, and I know that other O'Brian enthusiasts will be as well"-Richard F. Snow, American Heritage Magazine; "offers some interesting answers...insightful introduction...an ambitious listing, with accompanying notes, of all the characters and ships...brings to the task an erudition that is a worthy match for O'Brian's...one of those reference works that is genuinely difficult to put down, with one entry cross-referencing to another in an enthralling intellectual trail...whether used as a companion to the novels or as a work of reference in its own right, this book is a most useful and enjoyable tool...clear, sharp typeface...includes a useful annotated bibliography and a guide to the complex chronology of the novels"-Colin White, The Journal of the Canadian Nautical Research Society; "for all aficionados...outstanding...increases the joy of reading O'Brian...strongly recommended"-Catholic Library World; "Brown has stepped up to lend others a hand...invaluable as much for its reference use as its wit, Brown's book deserves a place on the shelf with O'Brian's corpus....before setting sail, it's important to chart your course, and Dr. Brown has made that task immensely simpler and more pleasurable" -Rob Lightner, Amazon.com Editorial Review; "useful for casual readers and for ardent fans, this dictionary is an in-depth guide to many factual and fictional aspects of the Aubrey-Maturin series"-ARBA; "a dictionary to explain the enormous number of references, both factual and fictional, found" -Reference Reviews; "describes every object and person one comes across in the books...exhaustive...impressive"-The Herald (Rock Hill, South Carolina); "splendid...will enjoy it very much" -The Rt. Hon. Lord William Waldegrave of North Hill.

About the Author

Anthony Gary Brown, a native of England raised in a Royal Navy family, earned his D.Phil. from Oxford. A dealer in rare books and manuscripts he lives in New York.