- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New Ed edition (19 Oct 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006497950
- ISBN-13: 978-0006497950
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 368,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Unknown Shore, something of a sequel to The Golden Ocean, is a fascinating blue-print for the Aubrey-Maturin series. We follow Jack Byron and Tobias Barrow, two unlikely neighbours and close friends in whom we catch glimpses of the heroes of the epic series to come. They set off to sea in 1740 as part of Commodore Anson's fleet to circumnavigate the globe. Byron, a romantic, forceful lad, signs on as a midshipman; Barrow, a strangely educated, scientifically brilliant boy, is running away from his father and wins a commission as a surgeon's mate. Set up in the Wager, which is parted from Anson's squadron and sinks somewhere along the desolate coast of Chile, Byron and Barrow are left to struggle for survival by wits alone, facing mutiny, famine, indifferent natives and lingering infighting. A fully realized hint of the fictional magic to come.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“'The Unknown Shore' has the same elements that mark Mr O’Brian’s more recent works: the wealth of social detail, the quiet humour, the harrowing shipwrecks, the swashbuckling adventures in foreign parts – and most important, the abiding and unlikely friendship between two young men, one a sociable creature born to the sea and the other a surgeon’s mate, brilliant in scientific understanding but lacking in social graces.”
TAMAR LEWIN, 'NewYork Times'
“Patrick O’Brian is the doyen of naval fiction…'The Unknown Shore' is satisfyingly filled with details of naval life, of natural history, and of the political and social background to the narrative. It is written with all the wit, scholarship and meticulous attention to detail which are characteristic of its 18 successors.”
PETER GORB, 'Ham & High'
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First Sentence
MR EDWARD CHAWORTH OF MEDENHAM WAS A WELL-DISposed, good-natured man with an adequate fortune, an amiable wife and a numerous family: he thought the world an excellent place, and he could suggest no way in which it could be improved, except for the poachers and the Whigs-they would be abolished in an ideal world, and the trout in his stream would be a trifle larger. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
MR EDWARD CHAWORTH OF MEDENHAM WAS A WELL-DISposed, good-natured man with an adequate fortune, an amiable wife and a numerous family: he thought the world an excellent place, and he could suggest no way in which it could be improved, except for the poachers and the Whigs-they would be abolished in an ideal world, and the trout in his stream would be a trifle larger. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Unknown Shore is the second (and arguably the weaker) of the two seafaring novels that Patrick O'Brian wrote before embarking on the epic Aubrey-Maturin series that would occupy him for the rest of his life. Like the Golden Ocean, it's set during Commodore Anson's circumnavigation of the globe in 1740, but this time focuses on the misadventures of the crew of the store ship Wager after it is wrecked off the coast of Chile. The two central protagonists are Jack Byron, a resourceful midshipman, and an eccentric surgeon's mate called Tobias, and much of the second part of the book (following the shipwreck) revolves around their battles to survive among indifferent or hostile natives, and their increasingly desperate attempts to return to civilisation.
Like all Patrick O'Brian's naval fiction, the novel is characterised by glittering wit and prose, convincingly archaic dialogue, and research so exhaustive and immersive that it convinces you it was all somehow collected at first hand. However it lacks some of the deftness and lightness of the Aubrey-Maturin novels. Occasional passages feel overwritten, the humour is sometimes laboured, and certain characters are unconvincing - none of which is really fair criticism, since I'm comparing them to later O'Brian, and he had more than four decades to perfect his art. Also the fact that Jack and Tobias are so obviously prototypes for Aubrey and Maturin can actually be pretty distracting in retrospect, especially as there are a handful of slight but significant differences in their characters which can seem strangely jarring if you're familiar with the later novels.
I don't think this novel represents Patrick O'Brian's best work, but it's still an entertaining and gripping read, and it's still head and shoulders above any other authors in the genre.
Like all Patrick O'Brian's naval fiction, the novel is characterised by glittering wit and prose, convincingly archaic dialogue, and research so exhaustive and immersive that it convinces you it was all somehow collected at first hand. However it lacks some of the deftness and lightness of the Aubrey-Maturin novels. Occasional passages feel overwritten, the humour is sometimes laboured, and certain characters are unconvincing - none of which is really fair criticism, since I'm comparing them to later O'Brian, and he had more than four decades to perfect his art. Also the fact that Jack and Tobias are so obviously prototypes for Aubrey and Maturin can actually be pretty distracting in retrospect, especially as there are a handful of slight but significant differences in their characters which can seem strangely jarring if you're familiar with the later novels.
I don't think this novel represents Patrick O'Brian's best work, but it's still an entertaining and gripping read, and it's still head and shoulders above any other authors in the genre.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Unknown Shore follows the ship Wager on the same expedition that we read about in The Golden Ocean. The central characters in this book are midshipman Jack Byron and his friend Toby, who works as a surgeon's mate but is really interested in exploring the fauna and flora of the new territories and oceans they visit - very like Stephen Maturin. Wager is an ill-fated ship, and is ship-wrecked on the Chilean coast. Much of the story is about their survival and their striving to escape back to civilization. Both climate and locals are dangerous and they must really strive in order to survive their ordeals.
This book is very much a companion to The Golden Ocean, Jack and Toby actually meet Peter Palafox (of The Golden Ocean) in this book. Both the storytelling and the turn of phrase makes this book another must for the Aubrey-Maturin fan, well-written and exciting as it is. And, clearly, this book points towards O'Brian's later novels, both in theme, characters and language.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Life at sea in vivid detail seen through the eyes of midshipman Jack Byron and his childhood friend and surgeon's mate Tobias Barrow. We experience the highs, lows and sheer physicality of shipboard life with Jack and Toby, and follow their perilous and protracted journey home. Their friendship endures and sustains. Pacy, clever and witty with a wealth of interesting historical detail.
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