Aubrey Maturin Wikipedia Field Trip
I’m about halfway through the Aubrey/Maturin series of books and I’ve started to look into the history and backstory. Consider this your Wikipedia based field trip:
First and foremost Nelson, the man who looms large although unseen over our hero Jack Aubrey. Jack Aubrey is based off an actual commander Thomas Cochrane while Maturin is based off of Joseph Banks (also if you’ve ever wondered about Catalan wonder no more).
The battle of the Nile is alluded to often as a pivotal event in Aubrey’s life, but never fleshed out. A little information on the War of 1812 which figures prominently. Probably worth looking up Napolean against whom The Royal Navy spent the Napoleonic Wars fighting. (Theres an interesting tie in here: The Dutch navy was put under control of the Royal Navy as a result of William of Orange’s takeover of England which makes up much of the plot of Neal Stephensons Baroque Cycle it was this addition that cemented the Royal Navy’s status as the greatest navy in the world). That’s enough historical background to get you well centered in the time period.
It’s worth noting that The main Aubrey Maturin page has information about the historical basis for the various books.
I have a biography of Cochrane’s life if you want to read it. It is amazing how similar his life is to the character of Captain Jack. At least until the end when Cochrane decides to free Napoleon. Got to go, not a moment to lose.
lose not a second!
Hey,
I have a biography of the O’Brian that looks pretty good. If you’re interested. I probably won’t get to it until I finish the series, and that will be a while since I’m trying to find them all on Audio. I may ultimately give up and just read them in book form. But even so …