Patrick O'Brian seemed to get better as a writer as this series wound down toward its end. This entry, number seventeen in the series, has actually been my favorite so far. Possibly that is because much of the action takes place on land and I didn't have to worry about keeping track of naval battles. Also, even more than is usually the case, it concentrated on exploring relationships and human interactions. Moreover, the author kept things moving and kept my complete interest throughout. Yes, I would definitely say that, for me, this is the high mark in the series to this point.At the beginning of this story, we find Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin headed home after their years-long adventures in the South Sea. Both are looking forward to home and family once again, but before Stephen can actually head home from port, he receives an urgent message to go to London and meet with Joseph Blaine, the head of the intelligence service. He does so and learns there has been a breach of security and his position has been exposed. He must tread carefully.He continues home, eager to meet his daughter Brigid who was born during his long, long voyage, but when he gets there, he finds a heartbreaking situation. Brigid is a beautiful child but she has a mental disability, apparently something like autism, and seems unable to communicate. Maturin's wife, Diana, in despair over the daughter's situation, had taken to drinking too much and had finally run away, leaving the child in the care of Clarissa Oakes whom we met on a previous voyage. No one knows where she is.Meanwhile, Jack Aubrey arrives home to find that his family had gone on a visit. He rides out to find them and is thrown by his horse and hits his head on a rock. Nevertheless, his head may be the least vulnerable part of his anatomy and his wife and children arrive home to care for him, a happy reunion all around.However, Jack's applecart is totally upset when his wife Sophie goes to dinner with Clarissa Oakes and finds her wearing a dress made from the same silk as the one she is wearing! The silk for the dress was a gift from Jack so she jumps to the worst possible conclusion. (Actually, Clarissa had married one of Jack's men while on that aforementioned long voyage and he had given her the silk for her wedding dress.) Things get very chilly at home.Stephen's assistant/servant Pegeen forges a unique relationship with the autistic daughter. He draws her out of her shell and she does begin to communicate, first in Irish, then in English. Stephen is delighted.Jack receives confirmation that he has been made a commodore and has been given command of a fleet that is being sent to the west coast of Africa to interdict the despicable trade in human beings there. He is to harry and destroy as much of the slave trade as possible and then head north to his ultimate mission which is to stop the French in their planned invasion of Ireland To accomplish all of this will call upon the best skills of both Aubrey and Maturin. Aubrey must learn to lead and discipline captains and he finds it isn't easy. Among the captains under his command is one who believes flogging his men is the answer to every problem. Jack abhors a flogger! Another captain is a practicing homosexual (in a Royal Navy that considers sodomy a hanging offense) who shows favoritism to certain of his men. This has created resentment between those in the inner circle and those outside it. Both ships are on the edge of mutiny.Stephen must keep his intelligence contacts intact, while at the same time battling disease among freed slaves as well as naval personnel.The plot of The Commodore is beautifully crafted and rendered. Many scenes in the book simply sparkle and crackle with wit and meaning. O'Brian is able, even with very brief scenes of only a few sentences, to convey so much significance and render his multi-dimensional characters with such realism that they seem to stand before the reader to deliver their lines. It is, in short, a marvelous read!
This installment in the Aubrey/Maturin saga has definitely been a late-series high point. After several books at sea, our duo makes port at home where they find high drama in their personal lives. Jack's wife Sophie has taken extreme umbrage at the nearby presence of Clarissa Oakes, Jack's former passenger on a previous voyage who has a dress from the same bolt of cloth Jack gave her. *facepalm* And Stephen returns to find his wife Diana MIA when the reality of their daughter Bridget's autism became too much for her to cope with. (Stephen's head-butting with Jack's mother-in-law over Bridget is delicious.)They're soon back at sea on a mission that is quite different from anything O'Brian has written so far: capturing slave traders. There's all kinds of drama and tension within Jack's squadron - one of the captains is a flogger, the other a sodomite and their ships are in total chaos which Jack, as the Commodore, has to navigate as mutiny and infighting threaten to shred all order.As with all the books, there are so many beautifully rendered scenes that are amazingly crafted in their brevity. O'Brian can impart such meaning with only a sentence or two, making his characters so dimensional they fairly leap from the page.
What do You think about The Commodore (1996)?
Here we have the 17th installment in this wonderful Napoleonic-era naval adventure series. I've been away from this series for over a year (and am not entirely sure why) and it has been such a delight to again immerse myself in the funny, super-smart, high-stakes world of Jack Aubrey, now a commodore of a fleet of ships, and Stephen Maturin, everyone's favorite illegitimate Irish/Catalan doctor/spy. This book is notable for Maturin meeting his daughter (I did not think I could love Maturin anymore than I already did but WOW), for the stomach-turning horror of the African slave trade (this is post-Wilberforce and Aubrey's fleet has been sent to disrupt the slave trade), and for making me feel yet even more resentful toward Diana than I already did. The unfeeling floozy!
—Julia
Stephen must find refuge for his money and for his learning disabled daughter when he learns of a possible plot against him as a result of his earlier part in foiling the Ledward-Wray conspiracy. He joins a squadron of British ships underway to intercept the now illegal slave trade, and to fight a French squadron. The British fleet is commanded by Captain Jack Aubrey, enjoying his temporary rank of Commodore. He has his hands full before he even goes into battle, with two subordinate Captains who aren't up to his high personal standards of officers and gentlemen. The capture of the slave ship and the freeing of its human cargo are the most satisfying parts of the book. O'Brian graphically describes the terrible conditions involved in shipping slaves to markets. He doesn't preach about the fact that this commerce is to supply demand in the America's, thus giving the British the moral high ground on this point.
—Richard
This is #17th book in the Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin series. Boy I enjoy these characters! (I happened to hear an old interview with the author. EVERY battle in the series was an accurate accounting from the British Navel records. Different vessels, of course, but HISTORY nevertheless. Amazing!)In this book, after a long – multi-year – voyage, Jack had risen for a mire Master and Commander to Commodore! Yet, here at home, each must now address family matter. (Imagine, in today’s world, your “job”, taking you away for years at a time.)Then, once again, their country commands them to crush on the slave trade – and kudos to Britain for being one of the first nations to do so. OMG – and, of course, another great sea battle.I’m already starting to read #18.
—Larry
