Laudanum, Balloons, Privateers, Lucky Jack Aubrey

Early in The Letter of Marque (1988), the twelfth entry in Patrick O’Brian’s splendid age of sail series, a character thinks, “How delightful it is to be at sea once more.” Amen, this reader thinks, because the previous novel, The Reverse of the Medal (1986), takes place almost entirely ashore, and the books are most compelling at sea. In that 11th volume, Jack Aubrey was removed from the list of post-captains and expelled from the British navy for his (innocent) involvement in a stock manipulation scandal. To restore some zest for life in Jack, his friend Stephen Maturin (suddenly wealthy after inheriting a fortune) bought Jack’s old ship the Surprise and secured a letter of marque enabling Jack to go to sea as captain of a private man of war (don’t call it a privateer in front of Jack!). Stephen has become, then, not only the ship’s surgeon, but also its owner.

Thus, the beginning of The Letter of Marque consists of Jack trying to mold the crew of the Surprise, about half of whom are former smugglers and privateers, the other half former Surprise men, into a capable, responsive, and well-moraled whole by going on a two-week trial voyage. Jack will integrate the different groups of men via rigorous gunnery practice. He’s also hoping for a reasonably challenging blow (storm) to further unite the diverse men. Through his intelligence (spy) connections, Stephen is able to inform Jack that the villains responsible for his scandal have escaped to France and that sensitive political considerations will prevent his being reinstated in the navy for a while. But it couldn't hurt his cause if Jack were to capture some prize ships, especially a French or American frigate of equal or greater size and strength to those of the Surprise (the War of 1812 is ongoing). And Stephen would like to score another intelligence coup against the Bonapartists of France. To help him sleep and deal with the pain of his wife Diana having absconded to Sweden with a handsome young officer, Stephen is also still prescribing himself laudanum, figuring that “it's no more injurious than smoking tobacco.” And the way that laudanum and hot air balloons converge in the novel is funny, scary, and moving.

As ever in his novels, O’Brian efficiently brings readers new to the series up to speed (without boring veteran readers) by sketching Jack and Stephen’s situations and their contrasting and complementary characters: big Jack is capable “Lucky Jack Aubrey” aboard ship but a gullible financially and legally entangled mark ashore, while small Stephen is a dyslexic seaman, a “perpetual lubber,” aboard ship but a shrewd agent on land. And both men have their respective instruments (violin and cello), love of classical music, and deep friendship, too. (They often refer to one another as “brother” or “dear.”)

Like all of O'Brian's novels, this one is a pleasure to read. It features early 19th-century politics, culture, nature, fauna, music, complex and appealing characters, witty and historically appropriate conversation, sudden and suspenseful action, and vivid depiction of being at sea in the age of sail. All of it excellently written.

There are many vivid sensual details of sailing on a ship:
“... choppy seas smacking against her starboard bow and streaming aft, mixed with the rain.”
“It was indeed the sweetest evening, balmy, a golden sky in the west, and a royal blue swell, white along the frigate's side and in her wake.”
“Everything looked superficially the same, the familiar sun-filled white curves above, the taught rigging and severe shadows...”
“…watching the distant battle as it moved slowly across the western sea in a night all the blacker for the flashes of the guns.”
“... The complex aroma, made up of scrubbed planks, fresh sea breeze, stale bilge water, tarred cordage, paint, and damp sailcloth.”

O’Brian has a dry sense of humor, too:

--“The landlord came back with a satisfied expression of one whose worst fears have been realized.”
--“It is a remarkable fact that in all my years at sea, I have never come across an incompetent carpenter.”

Unlike the tenth and eleventh novels, this twelfth one ends with a fair amount of closure, which is nice, while still leaving some loose ends to look forward to being tied up in future books. It is a fun, suspenseful, and moving novel. And Ric Jerrom is, as ever, the ideal reader for the audiobook, smoothly donning different accents, singing an infectious sailor-work song, and greatly enhancing the experience.

[SPOILER PARAGRAPH!]
Jack had been so unlucky in recent novels in the series that it was a relief to see him run into a big run of luck, both on sea and on land, for a change. And it was good to see Stephen with Diana again.

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One of the best of a brilliant series

O’Brien gives a complete and fascinating insight into a time and era when personal courage and a stringent if sometimes reckless moral standard defined the best of human qualities. This novel encapsulates the best of the characters, the exciting actions and the thrills of the age of sail.

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