Commodore

To whom does ones true allegiance lie? Jack Aubreys long service has at last been rewarded with promotion to the rank of commodore, and a squadron of ships to command. His new commission is twofold first, inhibit the slave trade off the coast of West Africa, and then, on his return, intercept a French fleet loaded with weapons intended for the disaffected Irish. But will the conflict of loyalties be insurmountable for his friend, and Irishman, Stephen Maturin? His novels are . . . as delicately perceptive about the human condition as the Jane Austen novels that OBrian himself so much admired. CHRISTINA HARDYMENT, Independent One of the most brilliantly sustained pieces of historical fictional writing this century. JAMES TEACHER, Spectator