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The Nutmeg of Consolation
 
 

The Nutmeg of Consolation [Special Edition] (Paperback)

by Patrick O'Brian (Author) "A hundred and fifty-seven castaways on a desert island in the South China Sea, the survivors of the wreck of HMS Diane, which had struck..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; 40th Anniversary ed edition (10 Jul 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006499295
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006499299
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,541 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #8 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > O > O'Brian, Patrick

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Shipwrecked! When Captain Aubrey and his crew run aground on a remote island, they labour to construct a seaworthy schooner from the wreckage (taking breaks, of course, to play cricket). Their subsequent adventures lead them to the dreaded penal colony at Botany Bay, and then, as always, back to sea.

Review
'...full of the energy that comes from a writer having struck a vein... Patrick O'Brian is unquestionably the Homer of the Napoleonic wars.' James Hamilton- Paterson 'You are in for the treat of your lives. Thank God for Patrick O'Brian: his genius illuminates the literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who read him.' Kevin Myers, Irish Times 'In a highly competitive field it goes straight to the top. A real first-rater.' Mary Renault 'I never enjoyed a novel about the sea more. It is not only that the author describes the handling of a ship of 1800 with an accuracy that is as comprehensible as it is detailed, a remarkable feat in itself. Mr O'Brian's three chief characters are drawn with no less depth of sympathy than the vessels he describes, a rare achievement save in the greatest writers of this genre. It deserves the widest readership.' Irish Times

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First Sentence
A hundred and fifty-seven castaways on a desert island in the South China Sea, the survivors of the wreck of HMS Diane, which had struck upon an uncharted rock and had there been shattered by a great typhoon some days later: a hundred and fifty-seven, but as they sat there round the edge of a flat bare piece of ground between high-water mark and the beginning of the forest they sounded like the full complement of a ship of the line, for this was Sunday afternoon, and the starboard watch, headed by Captain Aubrey, was engaged in a cricket-match against the Marines, under their commanding officer, Mr Welby. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Quite convincing, 3 May 2004
The richness and complexity of this tome of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series is well brought out by this unabridged reading from Graham Roberts. On the whole, he succeeds in the difficult task of - literally - giving all the characters a plausible and distinctive voice. My reservation lies with Stephen Maturin's voice: it seems to me both overly Irish for a man of such cosmopolitan antecedents and unecessarily squeaky for a man of such gravitas. I think that Robert Hardy's readings - available, unfortunately only as abridged versions - are more successful in creating the Stephen Maturin that Patrick O'Brian intended. Having said that, this unabridged version is a most enjoyable reading.
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5.0 out of 5 stars An agreeable history lesson, 14 May 2008
By N. Webb "Nick" (Portsmouth England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The Nutmeg of Consolation is a welcome return to form by O'Brian after 'The Thirteen Gun salute' which I still consider to be the weakest instalment of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series. The latter part of this latest book especially, set in the infamous penal colony of Botany Bay, is surely an object lesson in writing historical fiction. The reader is delivered a sizeable & shockingly accurate history lesson almost unnoticed, such is the skill, power & emotional intensity of the narrative. Dr Maturin, one of the two principal characters, takes centre stage here. Appalled & saddened by the systematic abuse of both convicts & aboriginees, he allows his somewhat irascible nature to get the better of him with, at least for the reader, thrilling & satisfying results. He also comes to the aid of an old shipmate in as moving & poignant an episode as I've ever read. But, as usual, there are lighter moments to the story & the whole thing adds up to one of O'brian's very best of this series & one of my favourites.
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