Master and Commander: Patrick O’Brian: Book 1 (Aubrey-Maturin)

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The portrayals of these two men and their friendship — their abiding love for each other overcoming differences of politics and personality — carry the film. At times, Weir’s film seems to be a pure character study; the Acheron’s chase and capture matter much less than the development of this key male friendship. Aubrey improves the Sophie's sailing qualities by adding a larger spar to her mainmast, enabling him to spread a larger mainsail. He makes her ready to sail in convoy with twelve merchant vessels. During their journey east, the new captain takes the opportunity to get to know his sailors and to weld them into a fighting unit. As he does, he and the crew explain many naval matters to Maturin, (and thus to the reader) since the doctor is a novice sailor. This admiration of the Surprise’s masculine community, where different kinds of men are celebrated, serves as a positive counter model to the angst and toxicity of the manosphere. Master and Commander is an action movie with a brain. Its thrills are never mindless. Weir’s recreation of life in the close confines of a warship in 1805 is meticulous, fascinating and sometimes, rightly, nausea-inducing. Crowe and Bettany’s interpretation of a friendship between two men matches such artistry precisely. As Gabriella Paiella said for GQ earlier this year, much of the film’s lasting appeal springs from that portrayal of male closeness. So why was this marvel of modern cinema only a modest box office success? And why have there been no sequels, in an age of universes and franchises based on source material of infinitely less literary weight than O’Brian’s, never mind a whole Ridley Scott movie devoted to “ that raggedy arse Napoleon”? (Which I can’t wait to see.)

And what adventures! O'Brian's books are filled with espionage, warfare and the stinking reek of gunpowder. They are also full of humanity: perverse and humorous, dear and terrible, wonderfully alive. Napoleon, escaped from Elba, pursues his enemies across Europe like a vengeful phoenix. If he can corner the British and Prussians before their Russian and Austrian allies arrive, his genius will lead the French armies to triumph at Waterloo.Online, 20 years after the film’s release, many men are finding comfort and inspiration in this contrasting picture of what masculinity can look like. The online “manosphere” can seem like an opportunity for some men to deal with their very real issues of hopelessness and isolation. These online communities say they are looking to combat feminism and restore the role of traditional male dominance in society, offering men a space of connection and comradeship. Other pleasures involve the exciting scenes of naval action that suddenly pop up, from inconclusive minor skirmishes between pairs of ships to major battles involving multiple ships and shore batteries (for in the year 1800 when the novel takes place England is at war with Spain and France), as well as the occasional brief, vivid, and lyrical descriptions of the world viewed with relish from a ship at sea: Its depiction of life at sea is gritty and brutal: intense battle scenes; Maturin performing surgery on himself; Hollom’s suicide. And yet Master and Commander delivers a nostalgic, idealized lifestyle that still has many men dreaming of ditching their office jobs and sailing the high seas. To quote Garth Franklin, editor of DarkHorizons.com: “Needless to say this is not real, but God I wish it were.”

Aubrey himself is won over and indeed strongly attracted to this woman who will not speak of her past. But only Aubrey’s friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, can fathom Harvill’s secrets: her crime, her personality, and a clue identifying a highly-placed English spy in the pay of Napoleon’s intelligence service. Master and Commander Books #16: The Wine-Dark Sea (1993) After the convoy duties, Lord Keith allows Aubrey to cruise independently, looking for French merchants. After a number of prizes are taken, they meet and defeat the Cacafuego, a Spanish frigate, losing a number of crew, including Dillon, in the bloody action and gaining the respect of other naval officers. However, Captain Harte, the commandant at Mahon, has a grudge against Aubrey, who has been having an affair with his wife. His malevolence ensures the victory brings Aubrey and his crew no official recognition, promotion, or significant prize money. This instalment takes Aubrey and Maturin sailing on the pirate-plagued waters of the Red Sea, trudging over the Sinai Peninsula and even the depths of the sea floor in their efforts to stay one step ahead of the treachery afoot. Master and Commander Books #10: The Far Side of the World (1984)Napoleon is master of Europe. Only the British fleet stands before him. Oceans are now battlefields. And a moderate box office success from 2003 has become an unlikely streaming favorite, a poster child for the kind of movies Hollywood doesn’t make anymore, and a beacon of positive masculinity.” On his return to his lodgings, Aubrey finds that he has been given a command and promoted to the rank of commander. His joy overcomes his animosity towards Maturin and after coffee at 'Joselito's Coffee House' they become fast friends. As 'Master and Commander', and in charge of the tiny sloop-of-war HMS Sophie, Aubrey has to fill out his crew, including the post of ship's surgeon. He persuades Maturin to serve, at least on a temporary basis, although as a physician, he is overqualified for the job. Also introduced are Master's Mates(Senior Midshipman) Tom Pullings, William Mowett and midshipman William Babbington, who become long-term fixtures in the series, and James Dillon, Sophie's first lieutenant, who is also a member of the United Irishmen along with Stephen. But it is not necessarily the masculine, nautical adventures that appeal to men so much as the film’s healthy and loving male relationships.

Ric Jerrom reads the novel with clarity, feeling, and wit, modifying his voice effectively for the different seamen, whether common or elite, English or foreign, old or young, drunk or sober, pleasant or nasty, and so on. He brings the book vividly to life. The narration is excellent - Ric Jerrom is a revelation. He gives a supremely able and assured performance - certainly on a par with Audible's other star narrators (for instance Rupert Degas and Toby Longworth). At almost the same time the sun popped up from behind St. Phillip’s fort; it did, in fact, pop up, flattened like a sideways lemon in the morning haze and drawing its bottom free of the land with a distinct jerk.” The sea itself already had a nacreous light that belonged more to the day than the darkness, and this light was reflected in the great convexities of the topsails, giving them the lustre of grey pearls.”It is this promise that keeps men returning, two decades later, to Master and Commander. Much like Stephen’s flightless bird, it’s not going anywhere. — The Conversation via Reuters Connect Tasked with ferrying a British ambassador to the Sultan of Kampong, they find themselves on a prolonged voyage aboard a Royal Navy frigate en route to the Malay Peninsula. The fate of Europe hinges on their desperate mission. Master and Commander Books #20 Blue at the Mizzen (1999)