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The Letter Of Marque
''The Letter of Marque'' is the twelfth historical novel in the Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1988. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Aubrey faces life off the Navy List, as the captain of a letter of marque, finding heart to endure and train yet another ship's crew, but of volunteers, with no Marines aboard. Maturin travels to meet his wife. This novel received strongly positive reviews, for the characterizations and the naval actions. "O'Brian is a brilliant stylist of sea-historicals" in this "authentic and engaging" novel. The two principal characters, "bluff, hearty Aubrey and reedy, intellectual Maturin", return for an exciting story with accurate historical depictions. "Jack's seamanship and heroism are complemented by Stephen's absent-minded brilliance . . . in this swift, witty tale of money and love." Richard Snow called it a "self-contained and satisfying story." Plot summary Jack Aubrey, now a civilia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and centred on the friendship of the English naval captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. The 20-novel series, the first of which is ''Master and Commander'', is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early 19th-century life, as well as its authentic and evocative language. A partially finished 21st novel in the series was published posthumously containing facing pages of handwriting and typescript. O'Brian wrote a number of other novels and short stories, most of which were published before he achieved success with the Aubrey–Maturin series. He also translated works from French to English, and wrote biographies of Joseph Banks: A Life, Joseph Banks and Picasso. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navy List
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country. Background The Navy List fulfills an important function in international law in that warships are required by article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to be commanded by a commissioned officer whose name appears in the appropriate service list. Past copies of the Navy List are also important sources of information for historians and genealogists. The Navy List for the Royal Navy is no longer published in hard-copy. The Royal Navy (United Kingdom) publishes annual lists of active and reserve officers, and biennial lists of retired officers. As of 2015, the Navy List of the Royal Navy has been renamed as the 'Navy Directory'. The equivalent in the United States Navy is the Naval Register, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Maturin
Stephen Maturin () is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his career as a physician, naturalist and spy in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and the long pursuit of his beloved Diana Villiers. Maturin was played by Paul Bettany in the 2003 film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' and by Richard Dillane in the BBC Radio 4 adaptations of O'Brian's novels. Bettany was nominated for a British Academy Film Award for his performance. Biography Early life Stephen Maturin, called by his Catalan family Esteban Maturin y Domanova, a Roman Catholic, is the illegitimate son of an Irish officer serving in the Spanish Army and a Catalonian lady. He is cousin to the historical Lord Edward FitzGerald. As a boy he lived in Ireland, fostered by a family of pig-herders in Cahirciveen and County Clare, and spent his teenage years in Catalonia – most notably with his grandmother in Lleida, his uncle in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from lieutenant to rear admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and one incomplete draft)-book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along his course to flying a rear admiral's flag. Some of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from Royal Navy history. Several of his exploits and reverses, most importantly those in the plots of ''Master and Commander'', ''The Reverse of the Medal'' and ''Blue at the Mizzen'', are directly based on the chequered career of Thomas Cochrane. Often in the other 17 novels in the series, Aubrey may witness an action or hear of one that is drawn from history, while the battles or other encounters with ships he captains are fictional. Besides reaching the peak of naval skills and authority, Aubrey is presented as being interested in mathematics and astronomy, a gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Recurring Characters In The Aubrey–Maturin Series
This is a list of recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. As is noted in the articles about each novel, some of these characters are based on real historical persons, while others are purely fictional. Because there is an article describing each novel, links are made to those articles when mentioning the stories in which each character appears. References to page numbers, where they appear, are based upon the W. W. Norton & Company printing of the novels. Recurring characters Main characters and their families *Jack Aubrey is one of the heroes of the series. His rise from a young lieutenant in the Royal Navy, through the ranks of commander and post-captain to rear-admiral is chronicled thoroughly. A resourceful and powerful man, he is regarded as one of the best fighting captains in the Royal Navy. Part of Aubrey's success is the result of having been disrated from midshipman and turned before the mast as a common sailor, in part because ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers and lies above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2006 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, 2013 World Women's Curling Championship and the 2021 IIHF World Championship. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named the European Region of Gastronomy. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the Stockholm Municipality, municipality, with 1.6 million in the Stockholm urban area, urban area, and 2.4 million in the Metropolitan Stockholm, metropolitan area. The city stretches across fourteen islands where Mälaren, Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. Outside the city to the east, and along the coast, is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago. The area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. It is also the county seat of Stockholm County. For several hundred years, Stockholm was the capital of Finland as well (), which then was a part of Sweden. The population of the municipality of Stockholm is expected to reach o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville (14 March 1771 – 10 June 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was also Keeper of the Signet for Scotland from 1800. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1807, a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1817, a Knight of the Thistle in 1821, and was Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1814. Melville filled various political offices and was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1812 to 1827, and from 1828 to 1830; his eldest son inherited his title. Early life and family He was born in Edinburgh on 14 March 1771, the only son of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, and his first wife, the former Elizabeth Rannie (1751–1843). Educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, he went in 1786 with his tutor John Bruce on a continental tour and enrolled at Göttingen University. He studied afterwards at the Univ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint-Martin-de-Ré
Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.Commune de Saint-Martin-de-Ré (17369) INSEE It is one of the ten communes located on the . The fortifications in Saint-Martin-de-Ré, drawn up by Vauban between 1681 and 1685, were inscribed on the |
Ship's Boat
A ship's boat is a utility boat carried by a larger vessel. Ship's boats have always provided communication with the shore and with other ships. Other work done by such boats has varied over time, as marine technology has changed. In the age of sail, especially for warships, an important role was the collection of drinking water. A large enough boat may be needed to carry an anchor to some distance away from the ship, so as to kedge out of a harbour or away from a hazard - and also to recover such an anchor afterwards. Warships have always used their boats as an extension to their military role. This includes the provision of a means of escape for the crews of fireships, the landing of troops, or the "cutting out" raids that were used by the Royal Navy, especially during the Napoleonic Wars. All these requirements competed with the need to be able to stow the boats on board in a way that did not interfere with the normal operation of the ship. Historically, ship’s boats had d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horta (Azores)
Horta () is a municipality and city in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores encompassing the island of Faial. The population in 2011 was 15,038 in an area of The city of Horta itself has a population of about 7,000. Horta's marina is a primary stop for yachts crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and its walls and walkways are covered with paintings created by visitors noting the names of their vessels, crews, and the years they visited. Peter's Cafe Sport is a bar located across from the marina that houses the island's scrimshaw museum, a collection of artifacts carved from whale tooth and jawbone. Peter's is a point of reference for transatlantic yachters and sailors. History 15th through 17th centuries In 1467 the Flemish nobleman Josse van Huerter returned to Faial on a second expedition, this time disembarking along the shore of what would be known as Horta Bay. He built a small chapel which would later form the nucleus of a small community known as Horta, a name possibly deri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum ( ) from the Greek words, ''hydor'' (water) and ''argyros'' (silver). A heavy, silvery d-block A block of the periodic table is a set of elements unified by the atomic orbitals their valence electrons or vacancies lie in. The term appears to have been first used by Charles Janet. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital: s-blo ... element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is the halogen bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature. Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is obtained by Mill (grinding), grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide. Mercury is used in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
