The Golden Ocean, Patrick OBrian
The Golden Ocean, Patrick OBrian
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Golden Ocean

Author: Patrick O'Brian

Narrator: John Franklyn-Robbins

Unabridged: 11 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 02/21/2008

Synopsis

The first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series.

In the year 1740, Commodore (later Admiral) George Anson embarked on a voyage that would become one of the most famous exploits in British naval history. Sailing through poorly charted waters, Anson and his men encountered disaster, disease, and astonishing success. They circumnavigated the globe and seized a nearly incalculable sum of Spanish gold and silver, but only one of the five ships survived.

This is the background to the first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series that shares the excitement and rich humor of those books. The protagonist is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship.

Together with his lifelong friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking upon a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands, and excitement.

Here is a tale certain to please not only admirers of O'Brian's work but also any reader with an adventurous soul.

About Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O’Brian (1914–2000), a translator and author of biographies, was best known as the author of the highly acclaimed Aubrey–Maturin series of historical novels. Set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars ,this twenty-volume series centers on the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician and spy Stephen Maturin. The Far Side of the World, the tenth book in the series, was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. He wrote acclaimed biographies of Pablo Picasso and Sir Joseph Banks. He also translated many works from the French, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Lacouture’s biographies of Charles de Gaulle.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean

I am a big fan of Patrick O’Brian (1914-2000). I have read all the Aubrey/Maturin Series. I thought I had read all of O’Brian’s books until I discovered “The Golden Ocean”. I understand it was his first novel. The story takes place from 1740-44. Our protagonist is Peter Palafox who is a midshipman un......more

Goodreads review by Karl

A rollicking, engrossing story of one ship of the British navy in 1740, sailing the seven seas in search of Spanish ships to seize, burn, or sink. O'Brian's research puts the reader on the ship, eating hardtack, fighting scurvy, and firing 24lb iron balls and muskets at Spanish men-of-war, who fire......more

Goodreads review by Clemens

Read this book in 2011, and its the 1st of a two-part series set in the midst of the 18th Century. Its a marvellous seafaring story about Commodore (Later Admiral) George Anson, and his circumnavigation of the globe, and with him as a midshipman is a poor Irish man called, Peter Palafox. Alongside tra......more

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