Customer Reviews

Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels of Patrick Obrian

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I've been sampling this book for a couple of weeks and I can't tell you how much I've been enjoying it! For a fan of the Aubrey/Maturin books its almost as good as having a new POB come out! I think of someone I want to look up, then by the time I've read that entry I've been led to another, and then another and I keep stumbling on the most amazing facts and interesting historical stories.While just keeping track of all the names in the books is useful enough, the "enhanced" information - all the details about "real" people and ships and historical events - is the most exciting treasure for me.I can not begin to imagine the hours and hours invested in this masterpiece, though the careful attention to details and proofreading suggest it was a labor of love. All I can say is that I'm very grateful to the author for having written it. It will make reading and re-reading the Aubrey/Maturin books an even greater delight, and for me at least, it will lead deeper into the historical literature behind the series.Every bookstore in the country should stock this on the shelves next to the Aubrey/Maturin books so new converts will have it in hand right from the start.

Anthony Gary Brown's "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels" is a wonderful resource for anyone who loves the nautical fiction of Patrick O'Brian. The depth and breadth of research evident in this companion volume to the Aubrey-Maturin series is truly awe-inspiring. Every "proper name" reference -- no matter how slight or obscure -- has been diligently tracked and, where ever possible the historical reality behind the fictional is revealed. Characters I had assumed to be merely creations of Patrick O'Brian's imagination are shown by Gary Brown to be based in actual persons. Whenever Stephen Maturin speaks of an obscure botanist or philosopher, Brown has explained who he or she was and what was the significance of their work. There are many, many hours of delightful browsing in this volume for any Patrick O'Brian fan.

This book is an astonishing piece of research, a listing and historical analysis of thousands of items--well, characters, animals, ships, and cannons--from Patrick O'Brian's series of novels. I cannot imagine how he did it, but what a delightful treat for the rest of us. This book is not just an indispensible companion to the Aubrey-Maturin novels; it's also a great pleasure just to leaf through and read. If you like the O'Brian's books you need to have this one too.

This book is an invaluable resource for the O'Brian fan. Knowing the allusion to real people and the historical background tremendously enhances my enjoyment of the O'Brian series - well worth re-reading all nineteen books with this reference in hand, looking up the name of each character, animal, ship and cannon for the delicious humor of knowing WHY O'Brian named each entity as he did. A five-star book!

How on earth I ever managed to enjoy Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels before reading Anthony Gary Brown's wonderful dictionary is a mystery. Brown's book is a must have for all those who wish to get the most out of reading O'Brian's excellent naval stories.

I certainly qualify as an addict. For the last five years, in addition to my other reading, I have always been in the middle of one of the twenty Aubrey/Maturin novels. I'm now in my fifth (sixth?) reading of the series. These novels are so rich in period detail and characterization I can't imagine getting tired of them.

As other addicts know, part of the charm of the novels are the numerous obscure and offhand references to various "Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon." Mr. Brown's handsome, very well written dictionary of ALL of those references is a delightful companion clarifying many nuances in in O'Brian's prose. Actually, it's a joy just browsing through the book without one of the novels at your side.

The book also includes two insightful summaries of each novel, one from Aubrey's point of view and one from Maturin's, as well as descriptions of O'Brian's rare inconsistencies and errors in plotting from novel to novel.

This is the first edition. The second edition has a different title and is much better. Here's the link: The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book: Persons, Animals, Ships and Cannon in the Aubrey-Maturin Sea Novels