If you've been following Aubrey and Maturin's adventures, "Blue at the Mizzen" should be an irresistible continuation for you. It’s not just about naval tactics or the high seas anymore; it's O'Brian intertwining the rich tapestry of early 19th-century geopolitics with the deeply human story of friendship and duty. There's a reason fans of historical fiction hold O'Brian in high regard, and this book shows exactly why, blending meticulous detail with a story that feels both grand and intimate.

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Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their beginning, with Master and Commander, these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback with smart new livery. This is the twentieth book in the series.


'If we had only two or three of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, we would count ourselves lucky; with six or seven the author would be safely among the greats of historical fiction... This is great writing by an undiminished talent. Now on to Volume Twenty, and the liberation of Chile.' WILLIAM WALDEGRAVE, Literary Review


This is the twentieth book in Patrick O'Brian's highly acclaimed, bestselling series chronicling the adventures of lucky Jack Aubrey and his best friend Stephen Maturin, part ship's doctor, part secret agent. The novel's stirring action follows on from that of The Hundred Days. Napoleon's hundred days of freedom and his renewed threat to Europe have ended at Waterloo and Aubrey has finally, as the title suggests, become a blue level admiral. He and Maturin have - at last - set sail on their much postponed mission to Chile. Vivid with the salty tang of life at sea, O'Brian's writing is as powerful as ever whether he writes of naval hierarchies, night-actions or the most celebrated fictional friendship since that of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Blue at the Mizzen also brings alive the sights and sounds of revolutionary South America in a story as exciting as any O'Brian has written.

Author: Patrick O'Brian
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 304
Publisher: HarperCollins s
Publication Date: 02 Jun 2003

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