The Mauritius Command

The Mauritius Command
1st edition
Author(s)	Patrick O'Brian
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Aubrey-Maturin series
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	Harper Collins (UK)
Publication date	1977
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback) & Audio Book (Cassette, CD)
Pages	294 pages (Hardback edition) & 268 pages (Paperback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-00-222383-X (Hardback edition) & ISBN 0-00-615348-8 (Paperback edition UK)
OCLC Number	3426756
Dewey Decimal	823/.9/14
LC Classification	PR6029.B55 M38 1977
Preceded by	HMS Surprise
Followed by	Desolation Island

The Mauritius Command is a historical naval novel by British author Patrick O'Brian. It is fourth in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories that follow the partnership of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. It retells in fictional form the real campaign carried out by the Royal Navy in 1810 under Commodore Josias Rowley. As is common to most of the stories, Aubrey's inspired tactical seamanship is a suitable foil for the dramatic and "Machiavellian" scheming of his medical man and intelligence expert Maturin. Both Britain and France need to protect their trade routes and prey on the enemy in the Indian Ocean. Mauritius and La Réunion are suitably placed to be desirable bases for both countries. At the start of the book the French hold the islands and are capturing British ships.

Plot introduction

The novel sees Aubrey made Commodore in charge of a squadron of ships sent to take the islands of Mauritius and Réunion from the French, and so protect British shipping interests in the Indian Ocean.

Plot summary

When the novel begins, Aubrey is at home in his cramped Ashgrove Cottage with his wife, his twin baby girls and his shrewish mother-in-law, Mrs Williams, ashore and without a ship on half pay from the Navy. His spirits are lifted when his long time friend and colleague Stephen Maturin comes to call.

Aubrey is ordered to take command, as the Commodore of a small squadron of ships in Cape Town and sails south from Portsmouth with some of the ships, to the Cape of Good Hope, with instructions to disrupt French interests in the region. Particularly he is charged with taking the islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. He is given command of the 38-gun frigate HMS Boadicea. The wife of one of his captains, Lady Clonfert, seeks passage with Aubrey to enable her to join her husband but Aubrey is not keen on this and contrives to leave early one morning without her.

The long journey takes the squadron to the Cape of Good Hope. On the way Aubrey attempts to bring the crew up to his standards of efficiency, but he is only partly successful. They meet with the French ship Hébé which is escorting a captured merchant ship. After a brief chase the French are overcome and the ships captured. Hébé turns out to be HMS Hyaena captured some time before by the French. He sends the prizes to Gibraltar under the command of the Boadicea's aged First Lieutenant Akers. Aubrey uses this device to be rid of the officer and send home letters, one of which attempts to excuse his leaving early without Lady Clonfert.

On arrival, Aubrey meets Admiral Bertie and also has to contend with the disparate characters of his captains. One of these is Lord Clonfert, a minor member of the Irish aristocracy who has political influence, and who served with Jack Aubrey whilst out in the West Indies. They were involved in an action together and he had some reservations at the time about Clonfert's courage. Another is Captain Corbett who is a harsh disciplinarian and drives his men almost to the point of mutiny. Barett Bonden, usually Aubrey's coxswain, and Preserved Killick request permission to join Aubrey once more, particularly as Bonden was given fifty lashes for an unpolished firing piece on his gun.

During his campaign Aubrey temporarily switches his pennant to the elderly 64-gun ship of the line HMS Raisonnable, but returns to the more seaworthy HMS Boadicea with the onset of the tropical cyclone season. La Réunion is captured almost bloodlessly after a landing by British East India Company troops under the cooperative Colonel Keating, their path already softened up by Maturin's propaganda and political machinations. Mauritius proves a tougher nut to crack. As HMS Néréide is detached to chase the Iphigenia to Port South East on Mauritius, Maturin suffers a serious fall and spends much time in the company of Lord Clonfert and Mr. McAdam, Clonfert's learned but drunken surgeon. The first demonstrates himself to be a largely ineffective person, craving the fawning attentions of his officers and crew, whilst McAdam, a less convivial conversationalist, is made fun of by the young officers particularly when "in his cups."

However, events worsen on their arrival. Keen to capitalise on the capture of the Île de la Passe fort, the small group of ships, under the command of the unadventurous but solid Captain Pym, land men and troops to consolidate the land campaign. While they are so disposed, the French appear with four ships Bellone, Minerve, Victor and Ceylon. They boldly sail past the fort into the port; the British are caught unprepared but decide to sail in to attack. They struggle to navigate the unfamiliar channel into the harbour and, with two British ships running aground, the French are able to bring all their guns to bear on the ships that eventually reach the harbour. The end result is the Néréide is taken (Clonfert is severely wounded in the neck and head by a wooden splinter), Sirius and Magiciénne are burnt to prevent their capture, and Iphigenia and the fort Île de la Passe are abandoned to be retaken by the French. Only a messenger vessel, with Maturin aboard, gets back to La Réunion to inform the commodore of the "ill tidings".

Aubrey immediately rushes to see if Iphigenia and Île de la Passe can be saved but the British are chased off after finding both are clearly in French hands. After eventually making contact with the Emma transport and the Windham, which itself appears to be unseaworthy, Aubrey believes his fortunes have changed when HMS Africaine - now commanded by Captain Corbett - re-joins them. Sailing in chase of the French during the night, Africaine clashes with the Astrée and the renamed Iphigenia (once again the French Iphigenie). But the encounter goes badly and Corbett is killed during the fight, probably, as the ship's surgeon informs Maturin later, by his own oppressed men. The French capture the ship, but leave it dismasted when the Boadicea and Aubrey bear down on them and, much to Aubrey's joy, refuse an engagement. Joined by the Otter and Staunch, the flotilla eventually reaches harbour and Africaine's refit is the Commodore's top priority.

Before repairs are complete the Pearl races towards harbour, meeting HMS Boadicea with the news that Bombay is nearby, being pounded by both the French Vénus and Victor. Outrunning the Staunch and Otter, Jack engages the pair who have captured Bombay and makes use of extra volunteer crew from the refitting HMS Africaine to board both Bombay, recapturing her, and the Venus. During the encounter the French Commodore, Hamelin, is killed by grapeshot in his heart. Now with news that Bellone and Minerve are almost certainly "heaved down", and Iphigenia and Néréide are likely to be of little use even if refitted, Aubrey believes the tide has turned in his favour. En-route from St. Denis to take Mauritius from the French, the squadron encounters a large British force under the command of Admiral Bertie, who proceeds to steal Aubrey and Keating's thunder by taking command of the whole invasion force and claiming the honours. However, news of the birth of his son causes Aubrey to remain ebullient even when everyone expects his mood to be downcast.

The final invasion, based almost entirely on Aubrey and Keating's original plan, is almost without bloodshed. The French capitulate after being given honourable terms, and Maturin finds that Clonfert has committed suicide by removing the bandages from his wounds while captured, unable to face up to the jubilation of his rival, Jack Aubrey, in victory. A ceremonial dinner is given back in Cape Town and Admiral Bertie, under the impression that Aubrey has influential political connections, gives Aubrey the honour of taking the dispatches aboard the Boadicea and sailing for England in compensation for "stealing" his victory.

Characters

See also Recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series

• Jack Aubrey - Captain in the Royal Navy and appointed Commodore during this story. Also captain of HMS Boadicea.
• Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack, and intelligence officer.
• Captain Pym - captain of HMS Sirius
• Lord Clonfert - captain of HMS Otter and then HMS Néréide
• Captain Corbett - captain of HMS Néréide and then HMS 'Africaine
• Lady Clonfert - wife to the above, wanted passage with the squadron
• Captain Eliot - captain in HMS Raisonnable
• Mrs. Williams - Jack's mother in law, now bankrupt.
• Sophie Aubrey - Jack's long suffering and patient wife.
• Charlotte and Fanny - Jack and Sophie's twin, infant daughters.
• Cecilia - Young daughter of Mrs. William's middle daughter. Niece of Sophie and Jack.
• Bessie - cook at Ashgrove Cottage
• Lt. Colonel H Keating - army commander
• Colonel Fraser
• Colonel McLeod
• Tom Pullings
• Mr. Farquhar - temporary governor of La Réunion
• Mr. John Fellowes - Bosun
• Bonden - Jack's Coxswain
• Colonel Saint-Susanne - French army commander on La Réunion
• Killick - Jack's steward
• Captain Lambert - captain of HMS Iphigenia
• Captain Curtis - captain of HMS Magicienne
• Hamelin - French commodore, based in the Vénus
• Lord Narborough (Garron) - captain of HMS Staunch
• Lt. Webber - 2nd in HMS Néréide
• Lt. Lemuel Akers - 1st in HMS Boadicea detached to sail HMS Hyaena to Gibraltar.
• Duvallier - French commander in Port South East
• McAdams - Surgeon in HMS Néréide
• Mr. Satterly - Master in HMS Néréide
• Lt. Seymour - 2nd in HMS Boadicea (acting 1st)
• Lt. Trollope- 3rd in HMS Boadicea (acting 2nd)
• Buchan - Master in HMS Boadicea
• Johnson - master's mate in HMS Boadicea
• Admiral Bertie - who calls a halt to the squadron's independence
• General Abercrombie - commander of the invasion army
• Golovnin - Russian fleet lieutenant, captain of sloop Diana
• Fortescue - captain of the schooner Wasp

Ships

The Squadron HMS Boadicea * HMS Raisonnable * HMS Sirius * HMS Néréide * HMS Otter * HMS Magiciénne* HMS Staunch * - brig HMS Iphigenia * HMS Africaine * HMS Bombay * Wyndham * - Indiaman used as transport once recaptured Kite - transport Solebay - transport Emma - transport HMS Leopard * Wasp - schooner

The French Caroline * - frigate Bellone * - frigate Minerve * - frigate Victor * - corvette Ceylon * - captured British Indiaman Wyndham * - captured British Indiaman Vénus * - frigate Manche * - frigate Astrée * - frigate

* N.B. were real ships during the period depicted.

Major themes

The novel gives further scope to Maturin's role as both a secret agent (in which he uses propaganda effectively to support the campaign) and as a naturalist (in which he is seen collecting relics of the extinct birds the Dodo and the Solitaire).

O'Brian used literary license in making Aubrey a Commodore while still a relatively junior captain. At that time, a captain would spend twenty years or more on the Captain's list before his promotion to Admiral. A Commodore's appointment was a considerable plum, and only very senior captains received them. On a remote station, when an admiral would have to draw on the captains on station, it would be a different matter. But Aubrey was appointed directly by the Admiralty to a post that, traditionally, would have come to an officer more than a dozen years more senior with the help of Maturin's persuasion.

Allusions/references to other works

The plot of the novel is very closely based upon a real campaign carried out by the Royal Navy in 1810 under Commodore Josias Rowley. O'Brian notes this in the preface. The island was formally captured on 3 December 1810.

The story contains numerous allusions to the ideas and thinking of others. At one point Aubrey is recorded "adding, not without pride, Ex Africa surgit semper aliquid novo, – novi, eh?" ("Always something new coming out of Africa".) This is the popular version of a quotation from Pliny the Elder, "unde etiam vulgare Graeciae dictum semper aliquid novi Africam adferre" ^[1] – "Whence the common saying among the Greeks, 'Africa always offers something new'."

Later Maturin quotes the Earl of Rochester, "Every man would be a coward if he durst" (which he would have seen in Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets.)^[2]

Throughout there are allusions and quotes from Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and Horace. ^[3]

Literary significance & criticism

"Jack's assignment: to capture the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius from the French. That campaign forms the narrative thread of this rollicking sea saga. But its substance is more beguiling still..."—Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek ^[4]

"O'Brian's sheer brilliance as a writer constantly dazzles, and his power over the reader is unique. No writer alive can move one as O'Brian can; no one can make you laugh so loud with hilarity, whiten your knuckles with unbearable tension or choke with emotion. He is the master." — Kevin Myers, Irish Times ^[5]

Reviews

• ? (1978). "The Mauritius Command". Kirkus Reviews 15 May. 
• T. J. Binyon (1977). "The Mauritius Command". Times Literary Supplement 24 June. 
• Elizabeth Peer (1978). "The Mauritius Command". Newsweek 31 July. 

Adaptations

From 3 April 2011 the BBC broadcast Roger Danes' dramatization of the book, in three one-hour parts, in the Classic Serial strand on BBC Radio 4^[6]. Produced and directed by Bruce Young, its cast was:

• Captain Jack Aubrey - David Robb
• Doctor Stephen Maturin - Richard Dillane
• Governor Farquhar - David Rintoul
• Lt-Col Keating - Thomas Arnold
• Lord Clonfert - Sam Dale
• Captain Corbett - Christian Rodska
• Lt Seymour - Max Dowler
• Midshipman George Johnson - Nyasha Hatendi
• Dr McAdam/Admiral Bertie - Sean Baker
• Captain Pym - Brian Bowles
• Mrs. Williams - Joanna Monro
• Sophie - Sally Orrock

Release details

• 1977, UK, Collins Publishers (ISBN 0-00-222383-X), Pub Date ? ? 1977, Hardcover
• 1978, UK, Fontana (ISBN 0-00-615348-8), Pub Date ? May 1978, Paperback
• 1978, USA, Stein & Day (ISBN 0-8128-2476-8), Pub Date ? May 1978, Hardcover edition
• 1989, UK, Fontana (ISBN 0-00-616574-5), Pub Date 9 February 1989, Paperback
• 1991, USA, W. W. Norton & Company (ISBN 0-393-30762-X), Pub date ? May 1991, Paperback Reprint edition
• 1992, USA, William A. Thomas Braille Bookstore (ISBN 1-56956-071-4), Pub date ? December 1992, Hardcover edition
• 1993, UK, ISIS Audio Books (ISBN 1-85089-871-5), Pub date ? April 1993, Audio book (Cassette), Patrick Tull (Narrator)
• 1994, USA, W. W. Norton & Company (ISBN 0-393-03704-5), Pub date ? ? 1994, Hardcover Reprint edition
• 1996, UK, Harper Collins (ISBN 0-00-649918-X), Pub date 2 September 1996, Paperback
• 1997, UK, Harper Collins (ISBN 0-00-105295-0), Pub date 20 January 1997, Audio book (Cassette), Robert Hardy (Narrator)
• 2000, USA, Thorndike Press (ISBN 0-7862-1935-1), Pub Date ? November 2000, Hardcover
• 2001, UK, Chivers (ISBN 0-7540-1519-X), Pub date 1 March 2001, Hardcover Large-print edition
• 2001, UK, Recorded Books Unabridged (ISBN 1-4025-0223-0), Pub date ? September 2001, Recorded unknown, Patrick Tull (Narrator)
• 2001, UK, Chivers (ISBN 0-7540-2398-2), Pub date 1 December 2001, Paperback Large-print edition
• 2002, UK, Soundings (ISBN 1-84283-263-8), Pub date ? September 2002, Audio book (CD), Stephen Thorne (Narrator)
• 2004, USA, Blackstone Audiobooks (ISBN 0-7861-8562-7), Unabridged audio edition, Pub date August 2004, MP3 CD, Simon Vance (Narrator)
• 2004, USA, Blackstone Audiobooks (ISBN 0-7861-8459-0), Unabridged audio edition, Pub date August 2004, MP3 CD, Simon Vance (Narrator)
• 2011, USA, W. W. Norton & Company (ISBN 978-0-393-06049-2), Pub date 5 December 2011, e-book

References

• Richard O'Neill (2003). Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World. Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-1540-1. 
• Dean King (2001). A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6615-2. 
• Dean King (2001). Harbors and High Seas: Map Book and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian. Henry Holt. ISBN 0-8050-6614-4. 
• Brian Lavery (2003). Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian. Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-946-8. 
• Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, Lisa Grossman Thomas (2000). Lobscouse and Spotted Dog: Which Is a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels. W W Norton & Co Ltd. ISBN 0-393-32094-4. 
• David Miller (2003). The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-Pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty's Royal Navy. Running Press Book Publishers. ISBN 0-7624-1652-1. 
• A.E. Cunningham (Editor) (1994). Patrick O'Brian: A Bibliography and Critical Appreciation. British Library Publishing Division. ISBN 0-7123-1071-1. 
• "maps for HMS Boadicea". The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. http://www.cannonade.net/map.php?The_Mauritius_Command_Boadicea&id=33608. Retrieved April 3, 2011. 
• "maps for HMS Raisonable". The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. http://www.cannonade.net/map.php?The_Mauritius_Command_Raisonable. Retrieved April 3, 2011. 
• "maps for Dr. Maturin". The Patrick O'Brian Mapping Project. http://www.cannonade.net/map.php?The_Mauritius_Command_Maturin. Retrieved April 3, 2011. 

Footnotes

1. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 8, xvii : (incorrectly) referenced here. Pliny was talking about lions at the time.
2. ^ Samuel Johnson, Lives of the Poets, "Life of George Etherege" : again referenced here
3. ^ general literary allusions link
4. ^ Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek quoted on WW Norton site
5. ^ Kevin Myers, Irish Times as quoted on WW Norton site
6. ^ "The Mauritius Command". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zzpl5. Retrieved April 4, 2011.