The end of a long voyage
It is with some sadness this week that I finally bid farewell to some dear friends. After 2 years of roaming the world together, circumnavigating the globe multiple times, and sharing in innumerable adventures, I have finally reached the end of the 20 novels in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. It’s time to say goodbye to Captain Jack Aubrey of the HMS Surprise and his companion, physician/surgeon, and intelligence agent Stephen Maturin. This has to be one of the grandest series of books ever written, up there with the greats of English literature. 
The strength and depth of all the characters, the elegant prose, the incredibly detailed research and descriptions on a wealth of topics such as the 19th century Royal Navy, medicine, biology, and music; and above all else the gripping twists and turns of adventure and intigue in the plot make these books difficult to put down. Aubrey and Maturin would have to be two of the most well fleshed out and intricate characters ever written about.
I probably would never have even picked up a book like this if it weren’t for Jenni giving one to me as a gift, and for that I am exceedingly greatful. Historical fiction about the British Royal Navy in the time of the Napoleonic Wars would never have been my first choice as a genre, but now I’m well and truly hooked.
Adding to the sadness of finally coming to the end of this series of books is a sense of “what might have been” had the series continued. Patrick O’Brian died whilst writing the 21st book in the series and we are left with a few brief chapters collated together as “The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey” In this we are given a few glimpses of the key characters in their element, at the culmination of their dreams, both professional and personal, surrounded by their loved ones… yet still with hints of intrigue and adventures to come… sadly adventures in which we will not be able to share. I almost had tears in my eyes as I read through the last few handwritten pages of O’Brian’s manuscript.
I look forward to picking up these books again in the future, maybe in another couple of years time when it will all seem brand new again. But in the meantime if you have never entered the world of Captain Jack Aubrey may I urge you to do what Jenni did for me - go and get yourself a copy of the first book, Master and Commander (or even see the excellent movie of The Far Side of the World with Russell Crowe first) and begin this long and interesting voyage. You may find the prose a little heavy work at first, since it is written in authentic 19th century style, however persevere and soon it will read naturally and you will race through page after page, book after book, like I did. And if you stick through right to the end, I guarantee you’ll feel the same way I do right now - a mixture of achievement and bitter-sweet emotion, like saying goodbye to old friends after a long voyage together.
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