The Fortune of War

Version: Unabridged
Author: Patrick O'Brian
Narrator: Simon Vance
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published In: December 2004
# of Units: 9 CDs
Length: 10 hours, 30 minutes
Ratings:
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Overview

This naval adventure finds Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in the Dutch East Indies and there's trouble brewing. Captain Jack Aubrey, RN, arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Navy. He and his friend, Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a despatch vessel. But, the war of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes where Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance.

Reviews (1)

Historical fiction vs Fact

Written by J Smith on February 6th, 2008

  • Book Rating: 5/5

One of the best O'Brien books, I've read so far, mainly because of the huge variety of experience (Not just one long battle scene). The last part of the novel covers the War of 1812 and the battle between the Brit ship Shannon and the USS Chesapeake. This is historical fiction, but the factual version of this battle is covered in Ian Toll's book, "Six Frigates: the founding of the Us Navy" By accident I had both books at the same time and enjoyed hearing both versions. O'Brien was accurate though.

Author Details

Author Details

O'Brian, Patrick

Patrick O'Brian wrote many novels, including the extraordinarily popular Aubrey/Maturin series about the Royal Navy in the time of Nelson. He died in 2000.