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EspañolHMS SURPRISE (NOVEL)
'''HMS Surprise''' is the 1973 historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. It is third in the series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin.
Plot introduction
Plot summary
Aubrey takes command of the frigate HMS ''Surprise'', charged with carrying a British ambassador to the East Indies. Much of the novel deals with the ups and downs of Maturin's relationship with Diana Villiers. Jack's romance with Sophie Williams also progresses.
This book also describes Aubrey's first stint in command of, and provides the readers' first encounter with the ''Surprise'' herself. Although apparently based on the real Royal Navy frigate HMS ''Surprise'', she appears as a ship on which Aubrey had served as a youth. (His initials remain carved in the mast.) The real HMS ''Surprise'', however, entered the Royal Navy as a prize captured from the French in 1796, so that O'Brian would seem to have added some fifteen years to her age, taking her capture (which he mentions) back to the previous phase of Anglo-French hostilities which formed part of the war of American independence (1776-1783).
The ''Surprise'' becomes Aubrey's favourite ship, and appears in many other novels in the series.
On the return voyage the ''Surprise'' encounters a fleet of the East India Company, returning from China laden with goods. The fleet comes under attack from a French squadron, but Aubrey organizes a spirited defence from the merchant ships and bluffs the French into retreating. This episode reflects elements of the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15 February 1804, in which 16 merchant ships of the East India Company under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance, drove off a French squadron consisting of the ''Marengo'' (74 guns), ''Belle-Poule'' (40), ''Sémillante'' (36), ''Berceau'' (22) and ''Aventurier'' (16), commanded by Rear-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois. (Another fictional account of this incident appears in ''Newton Forster; or, the Merchant Service'' by Captain Frederick Marryat.)
Characters in "HMS Surprise"
★ Jack Aubrey - Captain in the Royal Navy and appointed Captain of HMS ''Surprise''.
★ Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack and intelligence officer.
★ Sophie Williams - Jack's love interest
★ Mrs. Williams - Sophie mother
★ Diana Villiers - Stephen's love interest
Ships in "HMS Surprise"
The British
★ HMS ''Surprise'' - frigate
The Spanish
:::* n.b. were real ships during the period depicted.
Major themes
Allusions/references to other works
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The "cutting out" (capturing while at anchor) of HMS ''Hermione'' refers to an actual event involving the HMS ''Surprise'' in 1799.
Literary significance & criticism
:''"His books can absorb and enthral landlubbers like myself who do not even know the difference between a jib-boom and a taffrail."'' [1]
Reviews
Release details
★ 1973, UK, Collins (ISBN 0002213168), Pub Date ? ? 1973, hardback (First edition)
★ 1973, USA, Lippincott (ISBN ???), Pub date ? ? 1973, hardback (1st American edition)
Editions
★ W. W. Norton & Company; Hardcover Reprint edition (1994) (ISBN 0393037037)
★ Thorndike Press; Largeprint hardcover edition (2000) (ISBN 0786219343)
★ Harper Collins; reprint paperback edition (2002) (ISBN 0006499171)
★ Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged Audio CD edition (2004) (ISBN 078618597X)
★ Fontana; Paperback edition (1976) (ISBN 0006141811)
★ Recorded Books, LLC; Unabridged Audio edition narrated by Patrick Tull
Sources, references, external links, quotations
★ Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World, Richard O'Neill, , , Running Press, 2003, ISBN 0762415401
★ A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales, Dean King, , , Henry Holt, 2001, ISBN 0805066152
★ Harbors and High Seas: Map Book and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian, Dean King, , , Henry Holt, 2001, ISBN 0805066144
★ Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian, Brian Lavery, , , Conway Maritime, 2003, ISBN 0851779468
★ Lobscouse and Spotted Dog: Which Is a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels, Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, Lisa Grossman Thomas, , , W W Norton & Co Ltd, 2000, ISBN 0393320944
★ The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-Pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty's Royal Navy, David Miller, , , Running Press Book Publishers, 2003, ISBN 0762416521
★ Patrick O'Brian: A Bibliography and Critical Appreciation, A.E. Cunningham (Editor), , , British Library Publishing Division, 1994, ISBN 0712310711
Footnotes
1. Review of HMS Surprise, , Valerie, Webster, Scotsman,
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