Customer Reviews

The Reverse of the Medal

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Some critics have referred to the Aubrey/Maturin books as one long novel united not only by their historical setting but also by the central plot element of the Aubrey/Maturin friendship. Having read these fine books over a period of several years, I decided to evaluate their cumulative integrity by reading them consecutively in order of publication over a period of a few weeks. This turned out to be a rewarding enterprise. For readers unfamiliar with these books, they describe the experiences of a Royal Navy officer and his close friend and traveling companion, a naval surgeon. The experiences cover a broad swath of the Napoleonic Wars and virtually the whole globe.
Rereading all the books confirmed that O'Brian is a superb writer and that his ability to evoke the past is outstanding. O'Brian has numerous gifts as a writer. He is the master of the long, careful description, and the short, telling episode. His ability to construct ingenious but creditable plots is first-rate, probably because he based much of the action of his books on actual events. For example, some of the episodes of Jack Aubrey's career are based on the life of the famous frigate captain, Lord Cochrane. O'Brian excels also in his depiction of characters. His ability to develop psychologically creditable characters through a combination of dialogue, comments by other characters, and description is tremendous. O'Brien's interest in psychology went well beyond normal character development, some books contain excellent case studies of anxiety, depression, and mania.
Reading O'Brien gives vivid view of the early 19th century. The historian Bernard Bailyn, writing of colonial America, stated once that the 18th century world was not only pre-industrial but also pre-humanitarian (paraphrase). This is true as well for the early 19th century depicted by O'Brien. The casual and invariable presence of violence, brutality, and death is a theme running through all the books. The constant threats to life are the product not only of natural forces beyond human control, particularly the weather and disease, but also of relative human indifference to suffering. There is nothing particularly romantic about the world O'Brien describes but it also a certain grim grandeur. O'Brien also shows the somewhat transitional nature of the early 19th century. The British Navy and its vessals were the apogee of what could be achieved by pre-industrial technology. This is true both of the technology itself and the social organization needed to produce and use the massive sailing vessals. Aubrey's navy is an organization reflecting its society; an order based on deference, rigid hierarchy, primitive notions of honor, favoritism, and very, very corrupt. At the same time, it was one of the largest and most effective bureaucracies in human history to that time. The nature of service exacted great penalities for failure in a particularly environment, and great success was rewarded greatly. In some ways, it was a ruthless meritocracy whose structure and success anticipates the great expansion of government power and capacity seen in the rest of the 19th century.
O'Brian is also the great writer about male friendship. There are important female characters in these books but since most of the action takes place at sea, male characters predominate. The friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is the central armature of the books and is a brilliant creation. The position of women in these books is ambiguous. There are sympathetic characters, notably Aubrey's long suffering wife. Other women figures, notably Maturin's wife, leave a less positive impression. On board ship, women tend to have a disruptive, even malign influence.
How did O'Brian manage to sustain his achievement over 20 books? Beyond his technical abilities as a writer and the instrinsic interest of the subject, O'Brien made a series of very intelligent choices. He has not one but two major protagonists. The contrasting but equally interesting figures of Aubrey and Maturin allowed O'Brien to a particularly rich opportunity to expose different facets of character development and to vary plots carefully. This is quite difficult and I'm not aware of any other writer who has been able to accomplish such sustained development of two major protagonists for such a prolonged period. O'Brian's use of his historical setting is very creative. The scenes and events in the books literally span the whole globe as Aubrey and Maturin encounter numerous cultures and societies. The naval setting allowed him also to introduce numerous new and interesting characters. O'Brian was able to make his stories attractive to many audiences. Several of these stories can be enjoyed as psychological novels, as adventure stories, as suspense novels, and even one as a legal thriller. O'Brian was also a very funny writer, successful at both broad, low humor, and sophisticated wit. Finally, O'Brian made efforts to link some of the books together. While a number are complete in themselves, others form components of extended, multi-book narratives. Desolation Island, Fortune of War, and The Surgeon's Mate are one such grouping. Treason's Harbor, The Far Side of the World, and The Reverse of the Medal are another. The Letter of Marque and the ensuing 4 books, centered around a circumnavigation, are another.
Though the average quality of the books is remarkably high, some are better than others. I suspect that different readers will have different favorites. I personally prefer some of the books with greater psychological elements. The first book, Master and Commander, is one of my favorites. The last 2 or 3, while good, are not as strong as earlier books. I suspect O'Brian's stream of invention was beginning to diminish. All can be read profitably as stand alone works though there is definitely something to be gained by reading in consecutive order.

After years of encouragement from my father, I finally began to read the Aubrey/Maturin series last winter. As I finished each book, he would say "wait until you get to Reverse of the Medal." Now that I have just turned its last page, which came all too quickly, I know what he meant. "The Reverse of the Medal" is heartbreakingly heroic and one of the best stories I have ever read.

Several reviews here give praise to the ending. I will go further and say it rivals the best 50 pages to be found in any masterpiece you could put forth. When Aubrey is led to the pillory, to be publicly humiliated, his spiritual rescue by his fellow Naval officers and his devoted crew is tense and extremely moving. I could hardly believe I was reading a modern writer. Great books and movies are defined by certain moments that fulfill a yearning for the triumph of Spirit or Truth or Love. The emotional cheer at the pillory and Stephen's subsequent meetings with Duhamel, the French agent, are two of these perfect artistic moments that say to anyone ready and open for the experience, yes, this is what life is about and what friendship for your fellow Man should be.

This is what great literature, great art, does. It changes you. So do yourself a favor: ignore the multitude of self-help books. Pass by the latest celebrity biography or expose. Dismiss the soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture-or-mini-series pulp.

If you read one thing during the rest of your lifetime, let it be these novels by O'Brian. It will alter your molecules, your view of life itself.

Above all else, Patrick O'Brian is a patient writer. It is absolutely astonishing how slowly and carefully he is willing to develop his stories, amazing now when we have all of his books before us, and even more amazing when they were written, when he took years to bring plot details to fruition. Those who have not read this books would be absolutely stunned to discover their true nature. Before I had read these books, I had assumed they were nautical slugfests, thick with the smoke of battle and the stench of gunpowder. Yet in this, one of the best books in the series, there is next to no fighting, at least of the naval kind.

The book is broken roughly into two parts. The first contains the final leg of what is anticipated to be the final voyage of H.M.S. Surprise before she is to be either broken up or sold by the British navy. Though still one of the finest sailing ships in the navy, she is underpowered compared to other ships of the line, and her timbers will not allow the fitting of heavier guns. She spends the last part of her career as a British ship chasing an American privateer, only just failing to capture her. The second half of the novel takes place upon the return of Jack and Stephen to England. Jack hopes to buy the Surprise, and after receiving a stock tip by a mysterious individual who offers him a ride to London upon his arrival in England, he firmly believes that he is about to come into a very great deal of money, and being the generous soul that he is, he quickly shares the stock tip with all of his friends. But he soon discovers that the tip was actually a ploy by the political enemies of his Radical father, and he finds himself hauled before the law for stock market fraud.

Meanwhile, Stephen is, with one exception, hardly faring better. He returns to London to discover that his wife Diana has left him and that his lodgings have burned down to the ground. Furthermore, the secret service that he loves and serves is being undermined by nefarious undertakings, and perhaps even by treason that extends as high as the cabinet. And despite his most ardent exertions, he is unable to prevent Jack from being found guilty before the law and sentenced to a stiff fine and being pilloried, though the latter provides the occasion for one of the most remarkable scenes in the entire series, as Jack's fellow seamen and officers congregate en masse at the scene of his shame, preventing others from pelting him or even getting a good look at him, while cheering him.

The novel ends with Jack being removed from the active list of serving commanders, suffering the horrendous shame of being booted from the navy he so dearly loves. All would be despair except for one result of the lone big of good fortune that Stephen experienced: his exceedingly wealthy Spanish patron died and left the bulk of his enormous estate to Stephen. With his newfound riches, Stepehen buys the Surprise and outfits her with a Letter of Marque, installing his friend Jack as commander. With a secret mission assigned him by the foreign office, he will now attempt his particular friend Jack to rebuild his life and his fortune.

Like the other Aubrey-Maturin novels, this one is made exceptional by O'Brian's significant virtues as a writer. His patience as the developer of narrative I have already alluded to. He also stands out as both a very solid historian and an absolutely first rate teacher. I have never been much in the way of a student of the Royal Navy, but I find as a result of having read these novels (as well as a few other books that they inspired me to read) I have a surprising understanding of the intricacies of naval warfare of the period. O'Brian is a master of the subtlties, and he is never content with his reader gaining a rough grasp of the nature of naval warfare. He is continually wanting to expand and deepen his readers' understanding. But even more than all this, he is a superb writer from a purely literary point of view. Indeed, what made me finally decided to read O'Brian was the glowing testimony of major literary figures such as Iris Murdoch, Jean Rhys, and Eudora Welty (notice that I've just named three women, which utterly debunks any notion that he is a "guy's" writer). In fact, I can't imagine many potential readers who can find a great deal in O'Brian to savor. He will capture those who love fine literature as easily as those who want a good adventure yarn, and those who love historical fiction as easily as those who love military history. O'Brian truly is one of the most unique writers produced in the past half century.

As fine as this novel is, it simply must be read as part of the series as a whole. Though some might be tempted to dip in at some point other than the very beginning, the temptation must be resisted. Nor will anyone starting with the first novel either want to skip any of the individual novels, nor cease reading at any point. The reader's only regret at the end will be that O'Brian only lived to write twenty novels (with a portion of a twenty-first) in the series.

I'm an Aubrey/Maturin devotee who has read all in series up to this point. I must say that this book rivals Master and Commander, which was my favorite up till now. I enjoyed this novel as a book on tape, read peerlessly by Patrick Tull. Of course, at moments of greatest interest, I would arrive at my destination and have to fabricate reasons to stay in my car just a few minutes longer! However, I question whether the law should allow drivers to enjoy books while driving, as I frequently found myself gripping the wheel with passion and barely conscious of the cars around me! Seriously, though, this is one of the greatest reads I have experienced, and I am a lifelong compulsive reader. O'Brian is a genius and his death is a tragic loss to the reading world.

The late Patrick O'Brian had absolutely no peer when it came to sea stories. He knew his subject inside and out. For example, here's a passage that demonstrates his knowledge of the square-rig and sailing:

"'Man the fore clew-garnets.'

"His mind was wholly concerned with making up these lost miles, for not only had the Spartan gained this flying start, but the Surprise's former gain was now so much handicap. The first high gusts reached the frigate's royals and skysails: she swung round: she gathered steerage-way, and as the sun went down, turning her nascent wake blood-red, he began to make sail. Hitherto she had been beating up, with an array of sharply-braced square sails and staysails reaching almost to the sky; now she was to have the breeze on her quarter, or very near, and he set studdingsails aloft and alow, with a ringtail to the driver, bonnets, of course, and save-alls under the studdingsails and even the driver boom, brought the foretack to the cathead with a passaree, cast off the maintack and hauled the weather-clew of the maincourse to the yard." (page 97-98)

O'Brian was not simply making up those archaic terms. He was describing actual procedures and using real ship's nomenclature of the day. For the non-sailor, to whom the terminology might as well be in Greek, his main point is plain. There was a chase on. He was clearly using every trick in the book. For the knowledgeable sailor, it is sheer delight to read.

In this story, replete with London politics, intrigue and espionage, the heroic Captain Jack Aubrey innocently runs afoul of the law thrrough an ill-advised investment scheme, and is disgraced and humiliated by being punished on the pillory. The ensuing adventure gives O'Brian's brilliant characterization and often beautiful prose full play.

That Patrick O'Brian was prolific in no way detracts from the quality of his work. Each story is a masterpiece. He demonstrates a marvelous insight into human emotions, and engages you with his characters, showing their weaknesses and strengths; in short, making them come to life.

I have never read any author who so skillfully caught me and addicted me to his stories. He was a true master.

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity

I find Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series a challenge to read, albeit an excellent, well-connected long novel. I could not put down the eleventh in the series, The Reverse of the Medal, once I began it. Although most of this book occurs on land, where Captain Jack Aubrey is naive and awkward, O'Brian exploits this: the force of the plot is as strong as the earliest, more typically naval stories in the saga. The climax brought tears to my eyes, and the last chapter's denouement evoked a cheer for Maturin and his dear friend. I went right to the Web to order the next two novels.

For those who are new to Patrick O'Brian- stop reading this review now, it might spoil some aspects of earlier novels. This volume of the Aubrey/Maturin Series is most definitely not a `stand alone'. There are a few of the previous books that you might manage jumping into without reading earlier books, but to do so in this one would be a mistake. Try the first novel, "Master and Commander", and you'll be well rewarded for your efforts. All in good time. . .

In "The Reverse of the Medal" Patrick O'Brian takes us devotees of Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin back to England, as the H.M.S. Surprise returns from her long pursuit of an American frigate in the South Pacific. Following a brief interlude in the Caribbean, and a surprise from Jack Aubrey's past, the pages fly by the Surprise cruises on what may be her final chase through the Atlantic. In one of O'Brian's more bittersweet passages you will be thrilled by the naval maneuvering, but also saddened by the ship's impending doom: for the past two novels or so, the Surprise has avoided being sold out of the service by being sent to the South Pacific and now she is returning to that same fate- just a reminder for those who haven't read O'Brian in a while. Meanwhile Stephan Maturin is plagued by doubt and worries regarding his highly independent and volatile wife, Diana. For his intelligence activities in Malta have given rise to certain rumors that have traveled back to home, to the detriment of his domestic happiness. On top of this, Andrew Wray, the traitor who has been working against Maturin since "Treason's Harbour" and earlier, has been fanning the flames of Diana's anger in order to destroy Maturin.

The actual homecoming to England fascinated me more than usual this read around- in the past I just read through it, getting on to the more interesting sections of plot. However, now that I am personally on a military tour far from home and family, it amazes me how Aubrey and Maturin deal with their homecoming. Jack takes to hiding from his creditors in the Savoy, and continues to write letters to his wife. Stephen is dealt a shocking blow and manages it fairly well, although he relapses into the habit of laudanum. What would be considered a devastating homecoming by today's standards is to these men nothing out of the ordinary. It is just another facet of history and life during the early 1800's that O'Brian effortlessly brings to life- despite the fact that he is writing over 150 years after the fact.

What really stirs the plot for the series, however, is Jack Aubrey's usual ability to find trouble while ashore. This time the opportunity is provided to him at the hands of Wray and his sinister machinations. What seems an advantageous investment opportunity becomes a nightmare for Jack Aubrey, and results in a trial during which his name is smeared, he is financially fined and much worse. Jack Aubrey is dismissed from the service, and pilloried. This much you'll read from the back of the book, so nothing spoiled; but how these sections are written are absolutely some of O'Brian's best chapters. While Jack is being crushed under the legal landslide he can barely understand, Stephen comes to the fore- and as usual it involves his work in intelligence; this time arrayed to help his friend in need. I found Maturin's interactions with Joseph Blaine and the `thief-taker' they hire really developed the espionage aspect of the series. Blaine becomes a more fully developed character than the mysterious role he has taken in the past.

Not much more can be said without spoiling the excellent conclusion to the story, and I have no desire to do so. The final chapter will end and trust me, you will be immediately reaching for the next novel in the series, "The Letter of Marque".

You might also enjoy trying the novel "A Conspiracy of Paper" by David Liss if you like this novel a lot. It involves some similar topics: early stock trade and corruption, as well as the pratices of England's 'thief-takers'.

The eleventh installment in Patrick O'Brian's excellent series of naval adventures finds Aubrey and Maturin back in Britain as their journey to the Pacific, begun in the previous book, comes to a conclusion. Aubrey, always a minnow among land sharks when he has money in his pocket, finds himself innocently ensnared in a complicated stock exchange scam that may have been set up by Maturin's enemies in the intelligence game. The complex case and courtroom scene, O'Brian assures us in a note, are based on a real case. The pillory scene is powerful, as Bonden gruffly clears the square of all but sailors, and officers and seamen of all stripes come to show Jack their love and respect.

After several books at sea, "The Reverse of the Medal" brings readers back to the Admiralty in London with its complicated and layered intrigues, back to Ashgrove and Sophie, and back to Maturin's espionage machinations. As always, O'Brian's wonderfully intelligent prose and satisfying grasp of historical nuance captures the reader in little pockets of 18th-century Britain. The entire Aubrey/Maturin series is great, and this installment is no exception.

This is the second Aubrey/Maturin novel I've read recently and it won't be the last. O'Brian is an exceptional storyteller; his subtle prose, excellent character development and skillful portrayal of the nautical (and political) world in early 19th century Britain all combine to produce an engaging and satisfying diversion from the everyday life of an ocean-loving landlubber like myself.

In the first half of "The Reverse of the Medal," the aging H.M.S. Surprise sails her last voyage (an intense one at that) as a Royal Navy frigate before her retirement. Returning to Britain (now in the second half), Captain Aubrey is soon snared in a legal battle with furiously political motives. Dr. Maturin, who is unofficially involved in British intelligence work, diligently seeks to help his friend and ultimately learns Captain Aubrey is a victim of a larger scheme instigated by agents loyal to Napoleon.

Even in the space of one book, O'Brian deftly brings Aubrey and Maturin to life. These men, each a complex character and different in many ways, are men you can easily develop respect for. Not perfect, having foibles of personality as all men do, but honorable, trustworthy men. In one way or another, every man will likely see something of who he is and who he would like to be in either Aubrey or Maturin (or more likely in both). Another virtue that underlies the whole series is the fraternal affection between the two, manifested in a loyalty seen clearly in this novel when Captain Aubrey finds himself in considerable trouble. I could write much more, but in the interest of brevity I'll stop here. Read it yourself, I highly recommend it!

This is the most satisfying installment of the series since 'HMS Surprise.' I have noticed that a good number of the Aubrey-Maturin books lack a proper conclusion or a whole story arc. 'The Reverse of the Medal' does not suffer from either deficiency.

It could have done with a bit more in the way of great big guns blasting away at each other in the ocean, but then so could most books.