"Few, very few books have made my heart thud with excitement. H.M.S. Surprise managed it." —Helen Lucy Burke, Irish Press In H.M.S. Surprise, British naval of

The HMS "Surprise" starred as the principal ship in Patrick O'Brian's much-celebrated Aubrey-Maturin series of novels. This volume narrates the career of HMS "S

Stephen Maturin brings Captain Jack Aubrey secret orders to lead an expedition against the French islands of Mauritius and La Reunion, but the conduct of two of

"The finest writer of sea-stories in the English language."--J. de Courcy Ireland

Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin sail to Australia with a hold full of convicts, including a dangerous spy, while the crew is decimated by disease and th