Последние издания книг Патрика О'Брайана

The second book Patrick O’Brian wrote about the sea and a brilliant sequel to The Golden Ocean.
As in The Golden Ocean, The Unknown Shore tells the tale of another ill-fated ship on Anson’s expedition round the world – the Wager. Parted from her squadron in the fearful storms off Cape Horn, the Wager struggles on alone up the ironbound coast of Chile, before she is driven onto rocks and sinks. The survivors include Jack Byron, a midshipman, and his eccentric protege Toby, an alarmingly naive surgeon’s mate with a single-minded devotion to zoology.
Faced with a surplus of rum, a disappearing stock of food, and a hard, detested captain, the survivors soon descend into trouble of every kind, including drunkeness, mutiny and bloodshed. As they make their way northwards under the guidance of a band of stony and depraved Indians, they at last find safety and good treatment in Valparaiso.
Admirers of O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels will see in Jack Byron a matter-of-fact, bluff precursor to the great Jack Aubrey. Whilst Toby, raging in Greek against a corrupt Member of Parliament, stripped by thieves in the Farthing Pie House, asking the Commodore to carry his snake, arousing the darkest suspicions in the Chilean Inquisition, is an amiable companion whose vagaries afford endless diversion on a hard and dramatic journey.

The Complete Short Stories is the most comprehensive collection of O’Brian’s short fiction ever published. An essential volume, certain to enchant O’Brian admirers as well as readers who are fortunate enough to be journeying with him for the very first time.
Patrick O’Brian is acclaimed as one of the greatest historical novelists of the twentieth century, celebrated throughout the world for his masterful roman fleuve, the Aubrey?Maturin series. But he was also a prolific writer of short stories, and it is in this form that he first made his mark.
Encompassing stories written in his unvarnished youth to tales told by a seasoned traveller, this is the most comprehensive collection of O’Brian’s short fiction ever published. It is a treasure chest, overflowing with riches, containing more than sixty tales, including rarities, uncollected works, and forgotten jewels that have been out of print for decades.
These are stories of friendship, travel, adventure and the wonders of the natural world. Some are enchantingly funny, others exciting, terrifying, passionate. All of them prove Patrick O’Brian to be a true master of the form.

The first novel Patrick O’Brian ever wrote about the sea – and the precursor to the famous Aubrey-Maturin series.
The Golden Ocean is the first novel Patrick O’Brian ever wrote about the sea. The novel shares the same sense of excitement and the rich humour of the Aubrey-Maturin novels, invoking the eloquent style and attention to historical detail that O’Brian readers admire so much.
The protagonist of this story is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship. He is a fellow who would have delighted the young Stephen Maturin or Jack Aubrey … and quarrelled with them as well. Together with his life-long friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking on a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands and excitement.
Written in 1956, this is a tale certain to please not only the many admirers of O’Brian, but any reader with an adventurous soul.

The adventure continues…
At the time of his death, Patrick O'Brian had begun to write the twenty-first book in his famous and much-loved Aubrey-Maturin series. The chapters he left behind are presented here, both in printed version and a facsimile of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript and includes O'Brian's own marginal notes.
The story picks up from the end of Blue at the Mizzen when Jack Aubrey receives the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station.

For a man of war, peacetime is the ultimate challenge.
Leaving behind them a Europe still taking stock after the definitive battle of Waterloo, Jack Aubrey and his friend Stephen Maturin set sail for Chile. But even with the newly minted peace, life at sea remains beset with danger and imminent disaster, and the political turmoil of the South American continent is equal to any threat they have yet faced.
Out of loss – of purpose, of love – can the two friends rescue what they most desire?

Napoleon has escaped from Elba - the Hundred Days have begun.
The war is over, the armies dispersed, and the former Emperor of the French has been consigned to a Mediterranean island, yet now he is marching again on Paris with an ever-growing army. Commodore Jack Aubrey and his convoy are tasked with destroying enemy shipyards along the Adriatic coast and cutting off the financial support from that quarter, in a fast and furious race to stop the Corsican from regaining all he's lost.
All is to play for and everything is at stake.

The higher one climbs, the further there is to fall.
As war with Napoleon seemingly draws to a close, opportunities for advancement are limited and Jack Aubrey faces the ultimate indignity - the possibility of being 'yellowed', or retired, and set aside with no squadron of his own. But the blockade of Brest presents dangers to equal those of the furthest shores.

Who poses the greater threat to a naval man through and through? A resurgent Bonaparte or the Admiralty itself?

To whom does one’s true allegiance lie?
Jack Aubrey’s long service has at last been rewarded with promotion to the rank of commodore, and a squadron of ships to command. His new commission is twofold – first, inhibit the slave trade off the coast of West Africa, and then, on his return, intercept a French fleet loaded with weapons intended for the disaffected Irish.
But will the conflict of loyalties be insurmountable for his friend, and Irishman, Stephen Maturin?

There is a fine line between privateer and pirate, between friend and foe.
With a beleaguered Britain already facing war on two fronts – against Napoleon’s armies in Europe but also against the young and vigorous United States – the objective of ship’s surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin is to light the touch paper of Peruvian revolutionary fervour, all while Captain Jack Aubrey engages with their many and varied enemies at sea.
Will revolution in South America tip the balance Britain’s way?

On foreign shores, and far from home, a friend can become a foe in a heartbeat.
Shipwrecked on an uninhabited island in the Dutch East Indies as the Napoleonic Wars rage on, circumstances look far from promising for Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew. And yet, having overcome the odds and contrived their escape, still further peril awaits in the fiercely tidal waters of the Salibu Passage and the penal settlements of New South Wales.
What fresh dangers lie over the horizon and will Jack Aubrey prevail?

Entrusted with a secret mission, the perils of the South China Sea await.
In the fight against the French, a treaty with the Sultan of Pulo Prabang, a piratical Malay state, may prove decisive. Captain Jack Aubrey and ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin, along with a hand-picked crew, must survive the dangers of the high forties and convey a diplomatic envoy to ensure this key alliance, but dangers, both natural and man-made, will dog their every move.
When echoes of the past return, no one is safe.

Thrown out of the navy for a crime he did not commit, Jack Aubrey has lost everything he held most dear.
In command of his beloved Surprise, but in a civilian capacity, Jack Aubrey must navigate a world apart from anything he has previously known, his friend Stephen Maturin at his side. Together they embark on a voyage which, if successful, might just restore Aubrey to the rank, and the raison d'etre, whose loss he so much regrets.
Fate is fickle and few people can ever truly be trusted, but has Jack Aubrey's luck run out?

On dry land, having been drawn into the half-worlds of London’s criminal underground and of government espionage, Jack Aubrey faces perhaps the greatest challenge of his life.
With rumours of peace running rampant, Captain Jack Aubrey chances his luck on the stock exchange. However, when his plans go awry, Marshalsea prison awaits. Can Stephen Maturin rescue his friend from a politically motivated trial and the enormity of being stricken from the Navy Lists?
When the world has turned its back against you, friendship is all.

An enemy frigate is outward bound to play havoc with the vital British whaling trade, and must be stopped at all costs.
Racing against time, Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew must chase the USS Norfolk as she rounds Cape Horn, pursuing her into the Great South Sea and beyond. Following the equator, ahead of them lies not only the natural wonders of the Galapagos but also a succession of disasters - men overboard, castaways, typhoons, shipwrecks, to say nothing of murder and criminal insanity.
In a deadly game of cat and mouse with their American foes, will Jack Aubrey and his crew triumph, despite the odds?

On Desolation Island, with the known world out of reach, uneasy alliances are sometimes forged…
Captain Bligh, of Bounty fame, is now governor of New South Wales and facing mutiny anew, having lost the support of local settlers. Jack Aubrey is commissioned to come to his rescue. With a beautiful but dangerous spy on board, along with an unwelcome hold full of convicts, and war with America brewing, can Captain Jack Aubrey reach Australia in one piece?
Outmanned and outgunned in a thrilling chase through an Antarctic storm, the crew of HMS Leopard discover they have become the quarry not the hunter.

Malta, in 1813, is ostensibly a safe harbour, yet the island is a nest of French spies, and even those in authority are not to be trusted.
As Captain Jack Aubrey cools his heels in a Maltese harbour, awaiting repairs to his ship, war rages on. Fearing that hostilities will end before he has any further opportunities for fame and fortune, Aubrey accepts several secret missions, but all is not as it seems.
Will a double agent be the undoing of both Jack Aubrey and his friend, ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin?

Whether close to home or far away, there are no safe harbours while Napoleon seeks to dominate the known world.
Jack Aubrey, veteran of numerous battles, has been promoted to senior captain commanding a ship that has been sent out to reinforce the squadron blockading Toulon. Compared to the early days of the Napoleonic conflict, the action is slow, cold and dull. But a sudden turn of events takes Aubrey, and ship's surgeon and spy Stephen Maturin, off on a hazardous mission to the Greek Islands, where the skill, daring and, indeed, luck of both men will be tested to the utmost.
With so much at risk, will a Turkish alliance carry the day?

Loving someone, in a time of war and divided loyalties, can be the greatest risk of all.
Ordered home by despatch vessel, Captain Jack Aubrey and ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin have been tasked with bringing the news of the latest victory in the war with America back to the government in Britain. But Maturin is a marked man for the havoc he has wrought upon the French intelligence network in the New World, and the attentions of two privateers who pursue their ship soon become menacing.
In this man's world of seamanship and war, will a dangerous but fascinating woman redress the balance?

Can Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew defy the odds, and outmanoeuvre the French, to take two small but vital islands in the Indian Ocean?
Life ashore on half pay, despite the joys of family life, is unlikely to satisfy a man of action such as Jack Aubrey. The sea calls to him. And so, when his friend, ship’s surgeon and secret agent Stephen Maturin, arrives with secret orders, Aubrey soon finds himself in command of a frigate and setting sail for the Cape of Good Hope.
But, in Nelson’s navy, there are as many enemies within as without.

How far will a man go in the name of revenge, honour, love or simple survival?
Far from familiar seas, Captain Jack Aubrey and his crew must test themselves to the very limits of human endurance.
Following a daring rescue, Jack Aubrey accepts a new command and a new commission to a far-flung destination. Ahead of him and his crew are the new sights and smells of the Indian subcontinent, and the terrifying hazards of an archipelago of islands in the East Indies, where their French enemies have near overwhelming superiority.