The Nutmeg of Consolation: Aubrey/Maturin series, book 14
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in The Nutmeg of Consolation for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
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
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
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
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As with all the Aubrey/Maturin novels, this is an enthralling and exciting read. The clever use of the title of a sultan in the previous book - The Thirteen Gun Salute - as the title of this book is an endearing aspect of Patrick O'Brian's humour. His knowledge of naval life in the early 19th century is an education in itself, and my only reservation is that I really would have liked to have a diagram of the whereabouts of all the below-decks cabins and spaces mentioned in the books, particularly the orlop. Once you have read one of these books, you just have to go on and read the other 20!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perhaps because this was my first novel by Patrick O'Brian and it was written after many earlier novels with the same characters I may be have missed some detail about the two main characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, which reading earlier works may have revealed. I found both characters to be rather sterile. However, as a maritime historical novel, O'Brian's command of meticulous sailing detail was hugely impressive. Furthermore his knowledge of what was known about the flora and fauna circa 1800 was worth reading this novel alone for. (It is not surprising that O'Brian has written a biography of Sir Joseph Banks). Particularly interesting was his account of life in Botany Bay at this time. I also found O'Brian's references to the Irish Question very interesting. Overall I enjoyed the historical detail in this novel rather than the characters in it. I for one would be quite happy had the male water mole (platypus) been more deadly!
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book is great, as O'Brien fans know. I lost my original copy and Amazon turned up with
the replacement, on time, good price. Splendid service as usual.
the replacement, on time, good price. Splendid service as usual.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Far flung places
Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin spend much time at sea in this latest volume in the series, interspersed with exciting times when they make land. Read more
Published 6 months ago by JoTownhead
Patrick O'Brian Novels
Bought as a gift for someone who greatly enjoys his collection of Patrick O'Brian naval historical novels. The order was processed very quickly and arrived by the predicted date.
Published 7 months ago by F. I. Lilley
Sure it was good
but I can't remember. I'm only filling this in so I can write something scathing about another book
Published on 4 Nov 2009 by Dermie X
An agreeable history lesson
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... Read more
Published on 14 May 2008 by N. Webb
Quite convincing
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. Read more
Published on 3 May 2004 by Francois Jackman
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
