|
Showing 1 - 3 of
3 matches in All Departments
The Complete Short Stories is the most comprehensive collection of
O’Brian’s short fiction ever published. An essential volume,
certain to enchant O’Brian admirers as well as readers who are
fortunate enough to be journeying with him for the very first time.
Patrick O’Brian is acclaimed as one of the greatest historical
novelists of the twentieth century, celebrated throughout the world
for his masterful roman fleuve, the Aubrey‒Maturin series. But he
was also a prolific writer of short stories, and it is in this form
that he first made his mark. Encompassing stories written in his
unvarnished youth to tales told by a seasoned traveller, this is
the most comprehensive collection of O’Brian’s short fiction
ever published. It is a treasure chest, overflowing with riches,
containing more than sixty tales, including rarities, uncollected
works, and forgotten jewels that have been out of print for
decades. These are stories of friendship, travel, adventure and the
wonders of the natural world. Some are enchantingly funny, others
exciting, terrifying, passionate. All of them prove Patrick
O’Brian to be a true master of the form.
Out of print for many years, this is a brand new edition of the
definitive companion to the acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series of
novels, written by the author himself. What was daily life in
Nelson's navy really like, for everyone from the captain down to
the rawest recruit? What did they eat? What songs did they sing?
What was the schedule of watches? How were the officers and crew
paid, and what was the division of prize-money? These questions and
many more are answered in Patrick O'Brian's elegant narrative,
which includes wonderful anecdotal material on the battles and
commanders that established Britain's naval supremacy. The
meticulously researched text and imagery together provide an
unparalleled insight into life during wartime in the Napoleonic
era, and offer a wonderfully evocative companion to the world of
Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.
The first ever collection of poems by the acclaimed author of the
Aubrey/Maturin series of Napoleonic naval adventures. As we have
stood with Jack and Stephen on the deck of the Surprise and other
ships, readers around the world have been transported to a place
and time at once familiar and exotic, routine and dramatic. At all
times, Patrick O’Brian’s deep knowledge of the period and
profound empathy with the landscape of the sea has ensured there is
always a firm hand on the tiller. The writer’s command of
language is combined with the poet’s eye for visual detail to
remarkable, and unforgettable effect. In The Uncertain Land and
Other Poems, those same strengths are vividly displayed as
O’Brian leads us on a journey through his own life. Here, we see
a writer full of a young man’s spirit, challenging life, and here
an author reflecting an old man’s melancholy at youth gone; in
between, as he describes the places that he lived and people that
he encountered, are poems of sly observation, wry humour and
delicate beauty. Through more than 100 poems, O’Brian reveals
insights into the world that captivated him while he was at work on
a succession of novels that would reach its apotheosis in the
Aubrey/Maturin adventures, which would secure his reputation as
‘the Homer of the Napoleonic Wars’. Intensely personal,
allusive and unique, this is the work of a lifetime, published now
for the very first time.
|
|