"Few, very few books have made my heart thud with excitement. H.M.S. Surprise managed it." —Helen Lucy Burke, Irish Press In H.M.S. Surprise, British naval of

Stephen Maturin brings Captain Jack Aubrey secret orders to lead an expedition against the French islands of Mauritius and La Reunion, but the conduct of two of

The HMS "Surprise" starred as the principal ship in Patrick O'Brian's much-celebrated Aubrey-Maturin series of novels. This volume narrates the career of HMS "S

"The relationship [between Aubrey and Maturin]...is about the best thing afloat....For Conradian power of description and sheer excitement there is nothing in n

"The finest writer of sea-stories in the English language."--J. de Courcy Ireland