"A splendid saga."Los Angeles Times Book Review

"If Jane Austen wrote Royal Navy yarns, they might read like this.The early-19th-century locations
are fascinating, as are the evocation of period shipboard life . Seafarers and landlubbers alike will
enjoy this swift, witty tale of money and love."Publisher's Weekly

"The author has created two wonderfully contrasting characters in bluff, hearty Aubrey and reedy,
intellectual Maturin. Readers will be glad to see these unlikely friends in action again. An exciting
sea story with good character development."Library Journal

In the early 1800s, the British Navy stands as the only bulwark against the militant fanaticism of
Napoleonic France. Jack Aubrey, a brilliant and experienced officer, has been struck off the list of
post-captains for a crime he has not committed. His old friend, Stephen Maturin, usually acting as
the ship's surgeon to cover his activities on behalf of British intelligence, has bought for Aubrey his
old ship, the Surprise, to command as a privateer. Together they sail on a desperate mission
against the French, which, if successful, may redeem Aubrey from the private hell of his disgrace.

In this twelfth installment of the beloved Aubrey-Maturin series, Patrick O'Brian has created another
tale of great narrative power.

Earphones Awards recipient Simon Vance was born in England and worked for the BBC for ten years as a radio news announcer and as a narrator for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London. Besides narrating audiobooks, he is involved in numerous stage-acting projects in the United States and Europe.