H.M.S. Surprise - Jack Aubrey Series #3 by Patrick O'Brian - 1973

Collins, UK, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. Good (ex-library)/Good. Hardcover. 318 pages. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Collins, UK, 1973. First Edition. *** CONDITION: The book itself is in good (ex-library) condition and comes in good dust jacket. More specifically: Ex-library with usual marks, stamps, stickers. Boards have no wear, rubbing or soiling. Spine has mild fading. Dust jacket has light creasing. Edges of dust jacket have light bumping and superficial wear. The dust jacket has been price-clipped. Page edges are reasonably browned and mildly foxed. Pages are lightly tanned. Tape marks on boards. *** ABOUT THIS BOOK: Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. H.M.S. Surprise follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey's career in Nelson's navy as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues and the enemy, accepting a mission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage takes him and his friend Stephen Maturin to the strange sights and smells of the Indian sub-continent, and through the archipelago of spice islands where the French have a near-overwhelming superiority. Rarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O' Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterisation, and a vigour and joy of writing lift O'Brian above any but the most exalted of comparisons. *** Quantity Available: 1. Category: Fiction; Historical; ISBN: 0002213168. ISBN/EAN: 9780002213165. Inventory No: 24020060.. 9780002213165