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Blue at the Mizzen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Blue at the Mizzen cover.jpg | |
| Author | Patrick O'Brian |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Geoff Hunt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Aubrey-Maturin series |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Harper Collins (UK) |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) & Audio Book (Cassette, CD) |
| Pages | pages (first edition, hardback) & pages 262 (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-393-04844-6, (first edition, hardback) & ISBN 0-393-32107-X (paperback edition UK) |
| Preceded by | The Hundred Days |
| Followed by | The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey |
Blue at the Mizzen was the last completed work in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series series. A blue ensign at the mizzen-mast was the flag of the Rear Admiral of the Blue, the lowest flag rank in the Royal Navy of the early 19th century.
Contents |
Aubrey and Maturin are again sent around Cape Horn on a secret mission to help the Chileans gain independence from Spain, an effort loosely based on Lord Cochrane's setting up and commanding the Chilean Navy. Other historical figures from Chile's independence movement, including Don Bernardo O'Higgins and Gen. José de San Martín figure in the book as well.
Aubrey, initially against his wishes, is forced by The Duke of Clarence to accept his illegitimate son (whom the Duke refers to as a former shipmate's son, for propriety's sake) as a midshipman, and to his surprise and delight, finds the boy to be a competent sailor as well as having the mathematical skills that are essential for a navigator.
At a stop on the way to Chile, Stephen continues his budding romance with Christine Hatherleigh, who shares his tastes in natural philosophy and is altogether more level headed than his late wife Diana, and who attracts him physically as well, so that he has erotic dreams about her. She, on the other hand, has suffered from marriage with her impotent first husband, and is as yet unwilling to marry him, though she consents to visit the Aubreys and see Stephen's daughter Brigid at their home in Dorsetshire.
The book is packed with action - single ship actions against much heavier Spanish frigates, the siege of a fortified harbour, the capture of a pirate. Aubrey's efforts however remain under appreciated by the Chilean revolutionaries, who get bogged down in infighting and politics, and are moreover slow and stingy with payment.
At the very end, we get news of Aubrey's promotion to Rear Admiral of the Blue, attached to the South African squadron of the Royal Navy, which serves as an excellent closure for the book and is also a convenient excuse for Aubrey to detach himself from Chilean politics and resume active service with the Royal Navy.
- Jack Aubrey - later appointed Rear Admiral of the Blue.
- Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack and intelligence officer.
- Sophie Aubrey - Jack's wife
- Mrs. Williams - Sophie's mother
- Christine Hatherleigh - Stephen's new love interest.
"Filled with exuberance and humor, and a writer's palpable delight at exercising his finest muscles. . . . At sea with a master." — San Francisco Chronicle
"O'Brian has presented his readers with a shining jewel...an intricate, multifaceted work." — New York Times Book Review
- W.W. Norton & Company; Paperback Reprint edition (1999) (ISBN 0393048446)
- Recorded Books, LLC; Unabridged Audio edition narrated by Patrick Tull (ISBN 1402591748)