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Patrick O'Brian
Born 12 December 1914
Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire
Died 2 January 2000 (aged 85)
Dublin, Ireland
Occupation novelist and translator

Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000; born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Chalfont St Peter is a Village and Civil parish within Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text likewise called a " translation The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 366 - The Alamanni cross the frozen Rhine River in large numbers invading the Roman Empire. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text likewise called a " translation The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Rear Admiral Sir John Aubrey, KB, MP, JP, FRS, is a Fictional character in the Aubrey&ndashMaturin series Stephen Maturin (ˈmætyʊərˌɪn is a Fictional character in the Aubrey&ndashMaturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The 20-novel series is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early 19th century life, as well as its authentic and evocative language. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar A partially-finished twenty-first novel in the series was published posthumously containing facing pages of handwriting and typescript.

Contents

Biography

O'Brian was born Richard Patrick Russ, in Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire and was the son of a physician of German descent and an English mother of Irish descent. Chalfont St Peter is a Village and Civil parish within Chiltern district in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. He changed his name legally to Patrick O'Brian in August 1945. Although he never claimed to have been born in Ireland, his original name and ancestry were revealed following increased media attention.

From 1949 to his death, O'Brian lived with his second wife, Mary, at Collioure, a Catalan town in southern France, where he was buried. Collioure ( French: Collioure, kɔˈljuʀ Catalan: Cotlliure) is a seaside Mediterranean town and commune a few kilometers

Dean King's life of O'Brian, Patrick O'Brian: A Life Revealed was the first biography to document O'Brian's early life under his original name.

Historian Nikolai Tolstoy is O'Brian's stepson through O'Brian's marriage to Mary Tolstoy, who divorced Count Dmitri Tolstoy and in July 1945 married O'Brian. Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (born 23 June 1935) is a prominent Russo-British Historian, author and parliamentary candidate In November 2004, Nikolai Tolstoy published Patrick O'Brian: The Making of the Novelist, the first volume in a two-part biography of O'Brian using material from the Russ and Tolstoy families and sources, including O'Brian's personal papers and library, which Tolstoy inherited on O'Brian's death. November 2004: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September

O'Brian had an interest in nature and birdwatching, which is reflected through the character of Dr. Maturin in the Aubrey-Maturin series. The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic

Literary career

O'Brian published two novels, a collection of stories and several uncollected stories under his original name, Richard Patrick Russ. His first book, Caesar: The Life Story of a Panda-Leopard, was written at the age of 12 (and published three years later in 1930); Hussein was published in 1938, when he was 23. The name change to O'Brian necessarily meant abandoning the literary reputation he had built up.

In the 1950s O'Brian wrote three books aimed at a younger age group, The Road to Samarcand, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore. The Golden Ocean is a Novel written in the 1950s by Patrick O'Brian. The Unknown Shore is a Novel published in 1959 by Patrick O'Brian. The latter two were based on events of the Anson circumnavigation of 1740–1743. Admiral George Anson 1st Baron Anson PC RN ( 23 April 1697 &ndash 6 June 1762) was a British Although written many years before the Aubrey–Maturin series, the literary antecedents of Aubrey and Maturin can be clearly seen in the characters of Jack Byron and Tobias Barrow. The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Rear Admiral Sir John Aubrey, KB, MP, JP, FRS, is a Fictional character in the Aubrey&ndashMaturin series Stephen Maturin (ˈmætyʊərˌɪn is a Fictional character in the Aubrey&ndashMaturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian.

Aubrey-Maturin series

Main article: Aubrey-Maturin series

Beginning in 1970, O'Brian began writing what turned into the twenty volume Aubrey-Maturin series of novels. The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic The books are set in the early 19th century and describe the life and careers of Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, the ship's surgeon Dr Stephen Maturin. The books are distinguished by O'Brian's deliberate use and adaptation of actual historical events, either integrating his protagonists in the action without changing the outcome, or using adapted historical events as templates. The books are considered by critics to be a roman fleuve which can be read as one long story; the books follow Aubrey and Maturin's professional and domestic lives continuously. A novel sequence is a set or series of Novels which share common themes characters or settings but where each novel has its own title and free-standing storyline and can thus

Other works

As well as his historical novels, O'Brian wrote three adult mainstream novels, six story collections, and a history of the Royal Navy aimed at young readers. He also was a respected translator, responsible for more than 30 translations from the French, including Henri Charrière's Papillon into English, Jean Lacouture's biography of Charles de Gaulle, as well as many of Simone de Beauvoir's later works. Henri Charrière ( November 16, 1906 - July 29, 1973) was a convicted felon chiefly known as the author of Papillon Papillon is a Memoir by convicted felon Henri Charrière. It was first published in 1969 and became an instant bestseller at the time Jean Lacouture (born June 9, 1921 in Bordeaux, France) is a Journalist, Historian and Author. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French "La Beauvoir" redirects here also see Beauvoir (disambiguation

O'Brian also wrote detailed biographies of Sir Joseph Banks (an English naturalist who took part in Cook's first voyage) and Pablo Picasso. Sir Joseph Banks 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS (13 February 1743 &ndash 19 June 1820 was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and The First voyage of James Cook was the initial Pacific exploratory voyage of James Cook (he had previously sailed with the merchant navy and Royal Navy Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 His biography of Picasso is a massive and comprehensive study of the artist. Picasso lived for a time in Collioure, the same French village as O'Brian, and the two came to be acquainted there. Collioure ( French: Collioure, kɔˈljuʀ Catalan: Cotlliure) is a seaside Mediterranean town and commune a few kilometers

Peter Weir's 2003 film, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is loosely based on the novel The Far Side of the World from the Aubrey–Maturin series for its plot, but draws on a number of the novels for incidents within the film. Peter Lindsay Weir AM (born 21 August 1944 is an Australian Film director. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Master and Commander The Far Side of the World is a 2003 Film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of Historical novels — 20 completed and one unfinished — by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic

Mary's love and support were critical to O'Brian throughout his career. She worked with him in the British Library in the 1940s as he collected source material for his anthology "A Book of Voyages", which became the first book to bear his new name--the book was among his favorites, because of this close collaboration. He claimed that he wrote "like a Christian, with ink and quill"; Mary was his first reader and typed his manuscripts "pretty" for the publisher. Her death in March of 1998 was a tremendous blow to O'Brian and in the last two years of his life, particularly once the purported details of his early life were revealed to the world, he was a "lonely, tortured, and at the last possibly paranoid figure. " (Tolstoy 2004; xi).

Original manuscripts

O'Brian wrote all of his books and stories by hand, shunning both typewriter and word processor. The handwritten manuscripts for 18 of the Aubrey-Maturin novels have been acquired by the Lilly Library at Indiana University. Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus University system in the state of Indiana. Only two--The Letter of Marque and Blue at the Mizzen remain in private hands. The O'Brian manuscript collection at the Lilly Library also includes the manuscripts for Picasso and Joseph Banks and detailed notes for six of the Aubrey/Maturin novels.

Nikolai Tolstoy also possesses an extensive collection of O'Brian manuscript material, including the second half of "Hussein", several short stories, much of the reportedly "lost" book on Bestiaries, letters, diaries, journals, notes, poems, book reviews, and several unpublished short stories (Tolstoy, various pages). Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (born 23 June 1935) is a prominent Russo-British Historian, author and parliamentary candidate

Biographies

Since his death, there have been two biographies published, though the first was well advanced when he died. The second is the first volume of a planned two volume biography by O'Brian's stepson.

Also of importance when studying O'Brian:

Bibliography

The Aubrey–Maturin series

Main article: Aubrey–Maturin series
  1. Master and Commander (1969)
  2. Post Captain (1972)
  3. HMS Surprise (1973)
  4. The Mauritius Command (1977)
  5. Desolation Island (1978)
  6. The Fortune of War (1979)
  7. The Surgeon's Mate (1980)
  8. The Ionian Mission (1981)
  9. Treason's Harbour (1983)
  10. The Far Side of the World (1984)
  11. The Reverse of the Medal (1986)
  12. The Letter of Marque (1988)
  13. The Thirteen-Gun Salute (1989)
  14. The Nutmeg of Consolation (1991)
  15. Clarissa Oakes (1992)
    (The Truelove in the USA)
  16. The Wine-Dark Sea (1993)
  17. The Commodore (1994)
  18. The Yellow Admiral (1996)
  19. The Hundred Days (1998)
  20. Blue at the Mizzen (1999)
  21. The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (2004)
    (21 in the USA)

Fiction (non-serial)

Short story collections

Non-fiction

See also

External links

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