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The Reverse of the Medal
 
 
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The Reverse of the Medal (Paperback)

by Patrick O'Brian (Author) "The West Indies squadron lay off Bridgetown, sheltered from the north-east tradewind and basking in the brilliant sun ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 286 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; New edition edition (6 May 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006499260
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006499268
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,266 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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Product Description

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

Product Description
Returning from South America, Jack Aubrey finds himself led into the half worlds of the London criminal underground in this most unconventional of Patrick O'Brian's lauded naval tales.

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The West Indies squadron lay off Bridgetown, sheltered from the north-east tradewind and basking in the brilliant sun. Read the first page
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The Reverse of the Medal
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Lucky" Jack no longer., 8 Jan 2004
By Mr. John M. Terry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
The Aubrey-Maturin series reaches its emotional high-point. Like Post Captain, Reverse of the Medal takes place mostly on land but it is as far-removed as it can be from that romantic-comedy interval. We get to see a fascinating glimpse of the London underworld and the legal processes of the time and Jack Aubrey in adversity is an impressive sight. He bears his misfortune with stoic dignity and the respect in which he is held by all he has served with comes to his rescue in his blackest moment. The climax of the book is one of the most powerful and moving passages I have ever read and made me realise how much I had come to care about these characters.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Onshore, but the Best of the Aubrey-Maturin series so far, 26 Aug 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Reverse of the Medal (Aubrey-Maturin) (Paperback)
I find Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series a challenge to read, albeit an excellent, well-connected long novel. I could not put down the eleventh in the series, The Reverse of the Medal, once I began it. Although most of this book occurs on land, where Captain Jack Aubrey is naive and awkward, O'Brian exploits this: the force of the plot is as strong as the earliest, more typically naval stories in the saga. The climax brought tears to my eyes, and the last chapter's denouement evoked a cheer for Maturin and his dear friend. I went right to the Web to order the next two novels.
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10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful O'Brian piece about Sanguine Innocence Lost., 21 Oct 2000
By A Customer
The 'Reverse Of The Medal' is a splendid read. There, I've just gone and killed the review, or rather if it was a book it would be rendered moot to read it. In the same vein, anyone reading any of the later books before this will be rather at a disadvantage. The invention in this tale must be experienced first hand. Although you should read the earlier books in the series first, this is one of the few in the series where you don't acuatlly have to in order to grasp the plot. The Reverse Of The Medal is totally different to any other book of it's type, in the nautical vein. In fact it stands alone as a rather wonderful tale that I personally would put above the stodgy tales of Jane Austen. The secret to it's success, lies in the attention to detail and the human element often lauded in the series as a whole. However, in this series the tales are even better by land than sea. This book follows 'Post Captain' (An earlier title) in providing land based adventures that grab me so much that I wish O'Brian had written more tales of Maturins intelligence work on land, the five year gap between 'HMS Surprise' and 'The Mauritius Command' would have served amply. No matter because this book was perhaps the crescendo of O'Brians work. After this book, the series lost the urgency and must read quality it had until after this tale. One thing I particularly liked was Aubreys lawyer whose name is Lawrence, a thoroughly endearing character who in this tale, helps us keep faith in the law of the land. This characters conversations with Maturin are pure GOLD. And he shares my surname. (As I'm studying to be a lawyer I may also add that his views wonderfully mirror those who have taught me, and myself. He gives a wonderful perspective to the readers interpretation of the tale.) Also the portrayal of the Marshalsea Naval Prison is quite clever in portraying it rather nicely and not going over the top with misery and dirt. O'Brian had his characters in a REAL prison earlier in the series the Temple in France compared to that the Marshalsea seems like Butlins, the comparison fired my imagination. The only thing I didn't care for was, no the book could not be improved. Even those who have no interest in the series or the navy particularly SHOULD READ IT!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Aubrey's low point is O'Brian's high point
This is simply, for me, one of the best novels ever written, of any genre, & finds O'Brian at the very peak of his considerable powers. Read more
Published 14 months ago by N. Webb

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at Nelson's era
Aubrey and Maturin sail again in this epic sries from Patrick O'Brian. "The Reverse of the Medal" is timeless historical fiction of the highest quality. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 1999

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