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

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Puns—often "bad" on the part of Jack—are also common throughout the novels, much to the chagrin of Stephen Maturin. The film omits completely the fact that the doctor and naturalist is also a spy for England—a key plot element in the novels. Personal interactions are a lot more complicated, though, especially when we rarely know what characters are thinking, and have to judge by what they're doing.

At a dinner, replying to a lubber's question on the term ' dog-watch' ( Post Captain, Chapter 12), Stephen suggests it is "because they are curtailed, of course" ("Cur Tailed", "cur" meaning "dog"), and like other puns, Aubrey repeats the witticism as often as occasion allows. note 3] Other scenes were shot on a full-scale replica mounted on gimbals in a nearly 20-million-gallon tank at Baja Studios in Mexico, [14] [17] [8] built for the filming of Titanic (1997). Great efforts were made to reproduce the authentic look and feel of life aboard an early nineteenth-century man-of-war.

Todd VanDerWerff: I suppose we've covered this in depth, but I have to say that the jargon ended up being a real impediment to me getting into the book. Finally giving up the pursuit of the privateer, Aubrey grants Maturin the chance to explore the Galápagos Islands and gather specimens before they head for home.

The novel opens on 18 April 1800 and covers the period until mid 1801, [1] the action being portrayed within the historical setting of War of the Second Coalition, one phase in England's long and continuing war against the French following Nelson's victories in the Mediterranean, including the British victory at the 1798 Battle of the Nile. Jack Aubrey takes command of the Sophie, a rather sluggish boat with an under-manned crew, the remains of its previous crew who were not invited to join the departing captain on his new ship. O'Brian's books were written and published in the same chronological sequence as the events they describe, beginning with Master and Commander, set in 1800, and carrying through to the final novel, set in late 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo.Hoping to draw adults during the film awards seasons, Master and Commander was slated for a release in mid-November 2003. In the rebellion's aftermath many disaffected Irishmen (such as Maturin in the novel) had left the island to seek their fortunes elsewhere. As you said, I “blipped” over some of the descriptions and read others multiple times, trying to keep my head above water while progressing forward with the story. Valparaíso did grow quickly and is shown in this drawing done in 1830, but much of that growth started well after the events of the movie, and any residents there would have worked to recapture the French ship.