The Surgeon's Mate

Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 7

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Jack Aubrey, Post Captain in the British Royal Navy, is suffused with happiness. The Shannon's engagement with the U.S. Chesapeake off the New England coast has resulted in victory, just another in a long string of them for Aubrey, nicknamed Lucky Jack for his tendency to win big. But Jack is less sure-footed by land than by sea. Trying desperately to conceal from his wife Sophie the details of an untoward liaison with a lady claiming a baby, and wrestling with speculators who are trying to rob him of every farthing he ever pirated, Jack is making a poor show at civilized life.

Meanwhile, his best friend, surgeon and scientist Stephen Maturin, is enjoying unprecedented success. In possession of papers that would make Napoleon blanch, Stephen supplements his espionage activities by delivering lectures at the French Institute on such rarities as the extinct avifauna of Rodriguez, and by spending time in the company of the fiery Diana Villiers.

Don't miss the rest of the Aubrey/Maturin series.

©1980 Patrick O'Brian (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Splendid escape. Literate and amusing." (Kirkus)
"Vividly detailed 19th-century settings and dramatic tension punctuated with flashes of wry humor make O'Brian's nautical adventure a splendid treat." (Publishers Weekly)

Dr Matchurin gets to star

This story is not filled with as much sea adventure as the others but it does have a very exciting encounter with a reef. What I most enjoyed about this book was Dr Matchurin's adventures in Paris's science circles and his undercover spy work. In the end, it is his important connections that saves Jack Aubrey from their imprisonment in Paris.

tale by a 19th century seaman

You are immersed in a very convincing English nautical tale with delightful characters. Sometimes the thick seaman's language leaves you guessing on what is gong on - but the smoke quickly clears and you know you have really been at battle with a ship of the line. This is my first read of the series (picked for the high ratings) and I probably should have started earlier - for the author assumes you have been aboard for awhile.

Just...the best

This is my second time through the series and it just gets better and better.

Another interesting read!!

Sometimes it seems to me that O'Brian chose a few shorter adventures to fill out a novel. This one has some of that quality although the adventures are worthy in and of themselves. The author's consistency is remarkable.

poor audio issues, cuts in and out

The book is more of the wonderful storytelling of the typical Aubrey Maturin series, but with significant audio issues that almost sound like it's being re- recorded poorly from an original source. the issues end after the first quarter or so, and the rest is just fun.

Spy-craft and/or spouse-craft

"The pretext: dictatorships were absurdly sensitive to the public opinion they continually outraged; they always had to be in the right, to be morally impeccable; and that was one of the reasons why those who had been much mutilated in their interrogation were rarely allowed to live, whether they had given their information or not."
- Patrick O'Brian, The Surgeon's Mate

When I was first introduced to these novels and read the first couple, I couldn't believe how GOOD the were, but was skeptical that they could continue with the same level of near perfection the early novels evoked. Now, seven books in, I'm less amazed at the continuity of output. I figure it is something like building a cathedral. If you have a master-builder, it doesn't matter if the church is 10 feet high or 1000 feet. The scale matters, but a genius will produce genius work.

I am, however, a bit more accustomed to how O'Brian pulls this off without the books seeming to sink into the trap of most serial authors. Setting. If O'Brian only told his novels at sea, there might be some inevitable boredom and repetition, but O'Brian doesn't.

For example in this book, the setting goes something like this:

Halifax (Land) => HMS Diligence (Chased from Halifax to Home) => England (Land) / Paris (Land) => HMS Ariel (Baltic Sea/Bay of Biscay) => Paris (Prison) => HMS Oedipus (English Channel).

This one has a bit more setting changes than most, but O'Brian's change of settings and occasional diversions into spy-craft and/or spouse-craft allows enough shadows and depth into these novels to keep the reader from becoming sea-blind.

Another great book that doesn't require 15 words.

Outstanding story, this one with an unexpectedly good ending. Enjoyed it immensely. Bravo, pip pip cheerio and all that rot!

love this story

The storytelling continues to impress. I especially appreciate the fact that it's not cluttered up with incessant cursing.

O'Brian Does It Again

Of the 7 Aubrey/O'Brian books I have read so far, this one is by far the most captivating. O'Brian's style, tempo, story line and brush strokes painting the story are without peer! Thank you Mr. O'Brian for your work(s)! As Aubrey himself would say to Stephen. . . "Well done Patrick! I say, goddD@*n well done! O'Brian, tell is another story, if you please."

The Surgeon’s Mate

Always Fabulous - I ADORE Patrick Tull as a narrator. No one equals him for timing and expression. Absolutely perfect for a Napoleanic- early 19th c “sound”