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I read Persuasion today, and it's clear that out of all of Jane Austen's novels, O'Brian was most influenced by this one. The exact moment in history is important to the plot of this more than any other Austen novel, as most of the principle male characters are prize-rich naval officers returning to shore in the peace of 1814. I could almost recognize Jack Aubrey in the minor character of Admiral Croft, a bluff, genial warrior who allows himself to be steered by his wife in all matters on land. It's fairly short and well worth a read to any A-M fan.
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Sep 21, 2015 01:13
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My books are in a box at the moment, and to make it worse I don't even remember which specific book this is from, but does anyone have the quote where Jack's at some dinner and doesn't think the girls there are attractive so he says something about thinking those small-busted girls were "exploded long ago"?
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Sep 21, 2015 01:24
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I read that as a joke.
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Sep 21, 2015 01:55
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Yes, and?
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Sep 21, 2015 09:11
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InediblePenguin posted:My books are in a box at the moment, and to make it worse I don't even remember which specific book this is from, but does anyone have the quote where Jack's at some dinner and doesn't think the girls there are attractive so he says something about thinking those small-busted girls were "exploded long ago"? It's from H.M.S. Surprise, but I couldn't tell you the exact page. It's in last third, after Stephen comes back from his marriage proposal to Diana, but before he gets a response in Calcutta. Jack is telling him about a dinner he attended. It's before/during/after the dinner on board of the Lushington, after they get rid of the embassy and have the cabin to themselves again.
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Sep 21, 2015 12:20
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Thanks! That's super helpful, I can go find that book and look it up for myself now.
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Sep 21, 2015 17:19
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The reverse of the medal spoiler. Lol at Wray mocking Maturin for being cuckolded when Wray is actually the one being given horns (by Aubrey's protege Babbington). e: VVV I thought that was just Wray further mocking Maturin, just to his face? Murgos fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Sep 23, 2015 |
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Sep 22, 2015 19:55
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Murgos posted:The reverse of the medal spoiler. Lol at Wray mocking Maturin for being cuckolded when Wray is actually the one being given horns (by Aubrey's protege Babbington). Ah, he does in fact know of his own troubles in that direction (Maturin sees him being carried home drunk, and Wray makes reference to them) but Wray is such a scrub that he doesn't know/care/reflect on the fact.
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Sep 23, 2015 18:42
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I've read the first three books and I used an audible credit on book #4. People aren't kidding about Patrick Tull. He sounds like a 90 year old British sailor recounting a story that happened to him decades ago, it's great.
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Sep 24, 2015 04:43
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I'm trying to branch out some and read other books for a little while, since it's not reasonable to immediately re-read the whole thing. Definately looking forward to some Austen, which is a feeling I never considered I might be feeling. However, I just got the cook book! I think I'll mainly try the various drinks and desserts initially. VendoViper posted:I will have to try making one of the shrubs soon, but I just put a drowned baby in the pot. Excited to pull it out in a few hours and see what the rage is all about. I mean it's basically a desert where the whole thing is made out of pie crust, so i am not sure how it could go wrong. CarterUSM posted:If you're going to use a Papin's digester, for God's sake don't put a smoothing iron on the safety valve to make it cook faster. Hmm, this actually sounds like it will save me some time...
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Sep 24, 2015 08:23
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ovenboy posted:How did it turn out? They haven't posted since. RIP.
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Sep 24, 2015 12:14
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at the date posted:I read Persuasion today, and it's clear that out of all of Jane Austen's novels, O'Brian was most influenced by this one. The exact moment in history is important to the plot of this more than any other Austen novel, as most of the principle male characters are prize-rich naval officers returning to shore in the peace of 1814. I could almost recognize Jack Aubrey in the minor character of Admiral Croft, a bluff, genial warrior who allows himself to be steered by his wife in all matters on land. It's fairly short and well worth a read to any A-M fan. I checked out this audiobook from the library, so far I am liking it but all the main characters (we haven't gotten to Captain Fredrick yet) are pretty much all reprehensible, the petty small mindedness and concern with preference and breeding really reads like satire. Is it attempting to be accurate? I know Jane Austen was of that class of people but I don't know if shes being honest. e: Her brother, Francis Austen, was an accomplished navy officer who would have been a very senior post-captain around the time the novel was written (flag captain of the channel fleet) and was knighted in 1815. Although he didn't make rear-admiral until 1830 he later climbed as high as Admiral of the Fleet. e2: She also had another brother, Charles Austin, who also was a post-captain in the royal navy around the time the novel was written. So, I would guess that her naval characters are pretty well grounded in reality and are probably based on people she met socially. Murgos fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Sep 24, 2015 |
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Sep 24, 2015 14:31
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Murgos posted:I checked out this audiobook from the library, so far I am liking it but all the main characters (we haven't gotten to Captain Fredrick yet) are pretty much all reprehensible, the petty small mindedness and concern with preference and breeding really reads like satire. Is it attempting to be accurate? I know Jane Austen was of that class of people but I don't know if shes being honest. Jane Austen is good because she is 100% making fun of the vast majority of the people in her books.
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Sep 24, 2015 15:42
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ovenboy posted:I'm trying to branch out some and read other books for a little while, since it's not reasonable to immediately re-read the whole thing. Definately looking forward to some Austen, which is a feeling I never considered I might be feeling. I recently finished a book that was recommended in this thread, Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before the Mast, about his time on a merchant ship from Boston to California for two years in 1834. It was very good, very readable, and worth your time. It really helped being familiar with the nautical jargon from the O'Brien novels and gives a good look at life of a regular sailor. Also it's free! http://www.amazon.com/Years-Before-Mast-Richard-Henry-ebook/dp/B0082XP72S
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Sep 24, 2015 16:42
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builds character posted:Jane Austen is good because she is 100% making fun of the vast majority of the people in her books. Yeah, Austen wrote her characters with multiple levels of irony. It isn't unusual for the character speaking, the one hearing, the narrator's voice, and the author's voice to each be working on a separate level of irony. That said there usually is at least one character in her novels who is relatively sympathetic. Look for the young, unmarried, intelligent female.
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Sep 24, 2015 17:51
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Yeah, Austen wrote her characters with multiple levels of irony. It isn't unusual for the character speaking, the one hearing, the narrator's voice, and the author's voice to each be working on a separate level of irony. Agreed, but she does makes fun of them too. From two of her better known works, you've got Emma being pretty and rich and spoiled and lazy and entitled and just awful at matchmaking. Or Elizabeth who's smart, witty, generally pretty nice but totally unrealistic about her prospects (good thing it works out for her) and makes stupid, stupid decisions because of her (are you ready?) pride and (seriously, though, wait for it...) prejudices. I do think those tend to be much more on the level of the author to the reader only rather than working on six different levels like all of her making fun of everyone else. But anyone who doesn't like Austen is a bad person and should feel bad and also be a bit more careful about their reading because they're pretty light books if you just skim through them but they're hilarious if you take a bit more time/care. edit: only a little related, I just finished six frigates. I'd bought it maybe a year ago thinking it was a book I would very much enjoy having read and not a book I was looking forward to reading and then I actually picked it up and it was great! So if you haven't read it yet and liked Patrick O'Brian then I recommend it as well.
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Sep 24, 2015 19:35
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I second that. Six Frigates is great.
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Sep 24, 2015 23:51
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Mr. Midshipman Easy is a good book too.
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Sep 25, 2015 00:05
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Molybdenum posted:Mr. Midshipman Easy is a good book too. I didn't care for it. It's a novice effort and his later books are much better. e: One thing that I really miss about the series with O'Brian's passing is that we never got to see the Duke of Clarence give Aubrey his step (KB, Baronetcy?) after ascending to the throne as William IV (and after some suitable service of course). I feel that with all the setup there that O'Brian had to have had their relationship in mind for a natural conclusion to the series. Also, Maturin as the King's Physician. Having to dress for court and attend, hah, he would have hated it. Murgos fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Sep 28, 2015 |
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Sep 25, 2015 01:22
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ovenboy posted:How did it turn out? Pretty good all things considered. Ive tried it twice and it was definitely better the second time. Go to a fabric store and buy un-dyed muslin for the cloth. You want one way way bigger than you think, and boil the cloth on its own for a minute. Then rub a shitload of flour into it in a large area. This becomes a sticky paste, but you need it to cover the surface area of the dough. Still haven't gotten a line on actual suet, and butter is not really a sufficient substitute. Also seriously make sure you have a tea kettle going with backup water to add constantly. Never let it drop below a boil at all, and I think it needs closer to 3.5 hours than 2. Basically it comes out like a plain raisin bread. The recommended brandy custard sauce was super good though.
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Oct 16, 2015 20:39
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Ha so David Cameron is descended from William IV.
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Oct 16, 2015 21:12
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Reading Wine-Dark Sea and Stephen's rant about Bosville cracked me up.quote:'So I am. It is a retrospective passion, sure, but I feel it still. Thinking of that ill-looking flabby ornamented conceited self-complacent ignorant shallow mean-spirited cowardly young shite with absolute power over fifteen hundred blacks makes me fairly tremble even now - it moves me to grossness. I should have kicked him if ladies had not been present.'
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Oct 16, 2015 21:22
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VendoViper posted:Still haven't gotten a line on actual suet, and butter is not really a sufficient substitute. I used suet for the stuffed grape leaves. Got it from my grocery store, although I had to ask the butcher for it special. They seem to have some behind the counter or something. Try there. If you have a proper butcher in your area, I can almost guarantee they have some too.
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Oct 24, 2015 23:10
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I was going to ask about the recipe for Boiled Fowl with Oyster Sauce but I googled it and there are lots of recipes available and it's as simple as it sounds. Boil fowl. Get oysters in their liquor and make a sauce by cooking them with some butter and wine, maybe use some flour to thicken, if you want. Pour sauce over fowl. I'd probably roast the chicken in stead but, yeah. Seems easy enough. e: Been working my way through an audiobook of Moby Dick checked out from the library. Did a good job of scratching that nautical itch. I couldn't get into it in written form but read aloud by a competent narrator it's really great. Also, American whalers hunting sperm whales don't use a crow's nest. That's a lazy English invention for hunting the right whale and no upright Nantucketer would deign to consider it. Murgos fucked around with this message at 21:41 on Oct 26, 2015 |
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Oct 26, 2015 21:36
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Murgos posted:I was going to ask about the recipe for Boiled Fowl with Oyster Sauce but I googled it and there are lots of recipes available and it's as simple as it sounds. No other book has been as arduous for me to read as that one. It's a good book and worth the effort, but it requires a shitload of work.
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Oct 27, 2015 00:49
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In The Commodore, Jack and Stephen ride into Portsmouth and leave their horses at The Keppel's Head, Jack's favorite Inn when he was a midshipman. Turns out that my wife and I stayed there on our honeymoon earlier this year! I specifically wanted to tour the Victory (we did and it is amazing) but I had no idea of this connection to the books when we booked this place. We stayed in The Victory Suite, furnishings probably unchanged since Jack's time:  View from the window: 
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Oct 27, 2015 23:33
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I visited Constitution last month; I was surprised to discover it is as long as Victory. Also the rails are high, like 5 feet high. I had no idea. Standing on the deck even without netting you would be well protected.
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Oct 28, 2015 02:02
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I noticed that David Cordingly's Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander ebook is on sale on the US Amazon for $2, http://www.amazon.com/Cochrane-Master-Commander-David-Cordingly-ebook/dp/B00422LERA I read it a couple years ago and it was very good, and interesting to see just how much of an influence the real life of Cochrane has in O'Brian's novels of events and the character of Jack Aubrey. The ebook is under Amazon's holiday deals so no idea how long it would last, I wouldn't wait to pick it up.
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Dec 14, 2015 18:08
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Just finished Homage to Catalonia read by Patrick Tull, and at times I was expecting Captain Aubrey to jump behind the next corner brandishing a sword.
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Jan 18, 2016 09:35
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So recently I became interested in this series and I thought to ask my dad who was a load master in the airforce in the late 70s/early 80s if he had any of these books, since he used to buy tons of books to kill time on his frequent ocean-crossing flights and remembered Age-of-Sail books as one of the genres he'd buy (alongside trashy fantasy novels). Digging through his boxes he wasn't able to find any Aubrey-Maturin novels (yet?), but he did end up finding a stack of at least a dozen Bolitho novels by Alexander Kent. Are these books any good?
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Jan 19, 2016 06:34
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I stopped reading after the fifth or sixth Bolitho. Maybe it's just because I'm an Aubrey/Maturin fanboy, but I wasn't impressed. They weren't bad, not really, but something about them just bugged me. Maybe it was how Bolitho seemed to not really have many (any?) flaws, maybe it was that I was never really surprised by the plot at any point, but I felt they really paled next to O'Brian. Decent beach reads, but not much more.
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Jan 19, 2016 13:09
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I gave up on Hornblower, although it owes more to the dude reading the audiobook than anything else. In other news, Naval Action is starting Early Access soon, and it looks like Goons are forming a clan.
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Jan 19, 2016 14:05
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Galaga Galaxian posted:So recently I became interested in this series and I thought to ask my dad who was a load master in the airforce in the late 70s/early 80s if he had any of these books, since he used to buy tons of books to kill time on his frequent ocean-crossing flights and remembered Age-of-Sail books as one of the genres he'd buy (alongside trashy fantasy novels). Digging through his boxes he wasn't able to find any Aubrey-Maturin novels (yet?), but he did end up finding a stack of at least a dozen Bolitho novels by Alexander Kent. Are these books any good? I think you would be fine if you read them before Aubrey/Maturin or even Hornblower but Bolitho is really in third place. I know I read all the Hornblower stuff first and loved it (20 years ago) but I can't go back now and every time I've picked up a Bolitho novel I have bailed and gone back to reread Aubrey/Maturin.
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Jan 19, 2016 21:00
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Colonial Air Force posted:I gave up on Hornblower, although it owes more to the dude reading the audiobook than anything else. Wow... I had not heard about this game at all, and it sounds like exactly what I've been wanting for years. Thanks for the heads-up!
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Jan 20, 2016 00:19
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I'll admit that this game is the reason for my sudden interest in age-of-sail fiction and why I asked about the Bolitho novels.  And thanks for the words about them, I'll ask my dad to pack em up and send them to me. I might just go to the library/book store and get Master and Commander first though.
Galaga Galaxian fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Jan 20, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 00:50
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Galaga Galaxian posted:I'll admit that this game is the reason for my sudden interest in age-of-sail fiction and why I asked about the Bolitho novels. If ebooks are your thing, Amazon has had the Master and Commander ebook for $1 for awhile now: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Commander-Aubrey-Maturin-Novels-ebook/dp/B006C3Q6GG The best advice for the novels I got in this thread was not to get bogged down in the nautical jargon if you don't understand it, it's alright not to understand it all, because anything the author believes you really should know will get explained to a character (mostly the doctor Maturin) who knows nothing about sailing.
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Jan 20, 2016 18:42
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PlushCow posted:The best advice for the novels I got in this thread was not to get bogged down in the nautical jargon if you don't understand it, it's alright not to understand it all, because anything the author believes you really should know will get explained to a character (mostly the doctor Maturin) who knows nothing about sailing. I think a lot of the nautical jargon and cant is really just there because it's fun to say. If it's important to the story or an interesting bit of trivia it will get explained otherwise it's set dressing. I like the interludes where some phrase that's common today gets outed as having been 19th century nautical jargon. The bitter end. By and large. Etc...
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Jan 21, 2016 16:22
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We trice 'em athwart the starboard gumbrils, when sailing by and large.
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Jan 21, 2016 17:23
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Because it's cur-tailed.
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Jan 21, 2016 18:44
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Fire Safety Doug posted:We trice 'em athwart the starboard gumbrils, when sailing by and large. I fear someone has been practicing upon you.
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Jan 22, 2016 00:04
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