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This is the glossary thread for HMS SURPRISE.

Patrick O'Brian

Please feel free to add supplemental information regarding the above book selection on this thread which is a spoiler thread.

For those who have been enjoying this series of books by Patrick O'Brian and are looking forward to reading "HMS Surprise", the book below may add a lot to your reading enjoyment:

by Brian Lavery
Description:
There is no more famous a vessel in naval fiction than HMS Surprise, the principal ship in Patrick O'Brian's much-celebrated "Aubrey-Maturin" series of sea stories. Yet, the frigate also had a true historical career serving in both the French and British navies before being captured by Inconstant in the Mediterranean in 1796 and delivered into the fictional captaincy of Jack Aubrey.This sumptuous new volume, written by acclaimed naval historian Brian Lavery, not only reveals the complete career history and commentary of HMS Surprise in both its guises, but also presents an all-embracing construction history of the Fifth Rate including some 50 line drawings as well as historical artworks and detailed photographs together with stills and model shots from the ship used in the film "Master & Commander: the Far Side of the World". The book is presented in full colour throughout and additionally includes a series of specially-commissioned sketches and paintings by co-author Geoff Hunt RSMA, the acclaimed artist of the Patrick O'Brian cover artworks and related prints. Geoff Hunt also contributes a most illuminating chapter on his experiences in, and challenges faced, when illustrating this ship. Detailed line and isometric plans are being drawn by prolific marine draughtsman Karl Heinz Marquardt.HMS Surprise sails again and this time it's for real - a must for all Patrick O'Brian readers. It is a stunning collaboration between two of the most respected naval authorities. Much of Surprise's actual history is as exciting as her fictional career. It is a meticulously researched first-rate book for all naval devotees.

by Patrick O'Brian

Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World

I have been enjoying and appreciating the assistance of this book while reading the first three entries in the Aubrey/Maturin series. The Illustrated Companion to Patrick O'Brian's Navy has served to succinctly educate me on the Napoleonic Wars and to give me some grasp of some of the language of the books. Recommended.

Hello Brian,

Thank you for adding this to the glossary. I believe someone added this book to one of the glossaries of the first two books we read in the group earlier.

However, make sure to follow our format for citations using the power of the goodreads software which helps populate our site properly:

Bookcover first, then author's photo when available and always the author's link

by Richard O'Neill

Here is the German edition. The title recalls the struggles of Sumatra.

Duell vor Sumatra (H.M.S. 'Surprise')

byPatrick O'Brian

Thank you Baseni for your add.

The HMS Surprise had been restored in San Diego, California. Of course, this is just the boat which was used in the movie Master and Commander: I had the good fortune to visit this beautiful boat when in San Diego last year. A real thrill.



Patrick O'Brian

I thought this might be useful for those trying to figure out which were actual events described in this book and the previous two.


Aubrey-Maturin Chronology

by Don Seltzer

I have put together a comparison of actual historical events with the books in the POB series. Actual historical events are preceded by * It is well to remember that POB's canon is fiction set across an historical backdrop. There are inconsistencies, and it is a matter of personal choice as to which events are accepted and which are rejected in establishing a timeline.

Master and Commander

* August 1, 1798: Battle of the Nile. French GENEREUX escapes. A few weeks later, the British LEANDER(50) is captured by the GENEREUX(74).

* February 18, 1800: Admiral Lord Keith is Commander in Chief in the Mediterranean, Rear Admiral Nelson under him.

Nelson, in the FOUDROYANT, captures the GENEREUX. Lt. Lord Cochrane is the prizemaster who takes her into Port Mahon. He is then given command of the 14 gun brig SPEEDY.

The book begins in Port Mahon on April 18, 1800, according to dated entry in Sophie's muster book. Jack was previously a Lt. in the LEANDER during the Battle of the Nile.

His ship is later taken by the GENEREUX, which was then taken by the British. From the comments of the dockyard official, we can infer that Jack commanded the prize crew that brought the GENEREUX to Port Mahon.

No clue as to how long Jack was a prisoner, or of his role in the capture of the GENEREUX, but he must have distinguished himself so that Lord Keith would promote him to Commander in a letter dated April 1, from the FOUDROYANT at sea.

Jack receives this letter on April 18 (actually after midnight on April 19) at the beginning of the book.

* May 6, 1801: SPEEDY (14), Lord Cochrane, takes the Spanish frigate EL GAMO (32).

* July 3, 1801: French squadron under Admiral Linois takes SPEEDY.

* July 6 & 12, 1801: Saumarez's actions off Gibraltar against Linois. Capt. Keats in the SUPERB plays a major role.

SOPHIE captures Cacafuego. SOPHIE is captured by Admiral Linois, and Jack is an observer of the two battles off Gibraltar. POB observes that he has taken the liberty of delaying this battle until after the grape harvest. The book concludes with the court-martial shortly after the battle.

Post Captain

* October 1801: Preliminary peace treaty and cease-fire.

* March 27, 1802: Peace of Amiens between France and England.
The book begins a few days after the signing of the treaty, with Jack and Stephen enroute to England from Gibraltar. This is the Oct. 1801 preliminary agreement not the final March 1802 treaty. We don't know what Jack has been doing since his court-martial, but Stephen has apparently started his spying career. On Nov 6, 1801 (the 1802 in the text must be a typo), having established residence at Melbury Lodge, they are at Mr. Savile's fox hunt, where they first see Diana Villiers.

* Lord St. Vincent (Jervis) is First Lord of the Admiralty until May 1804.

Jack's interview with Lord St. Vincent does not go well, and he remains unemployed and unpromoted.

* May 1803, England and France declare war.

Jack and Stephen are in Toulon when war breaks out. A couple of months later, Jack meets with new First Lord Melville, who appoints him to the Polycrest.

The following year, probably in May or June, he cuts out the Fanciulla. A letter at this time is dated Sept 20, 1804, but this is clearly contradicted by other events.

Melville posts him, effective May 23, and Jack has temporary command of the Lively during the summer. At this time, Stephen is off spying in Spain, promising to return before Michaelmas (Sept. 29). He is back in England in very early autumn to receive Jack's letter dated Sept 12. He attends the opera, observing Diana with Canning (apparently Stephen considers this a key event in his private life, referring to it almost 9 years later in _Fortune of War_).

* Oct 5, 1804 British squadron of 4 frigates, including LIVELY, Capt. Hammond, capture Spanish treasure fleet.

It is Stephen's intelligence that leads to the British action against the Spanish treasure fleet. Jack is, of course, substituting for Hammond, who is attending Parliment. Followers of H. Hornblower will note that he too was in the general vicinity.

HMS Surprise

* Dec 24, 1804: Spain declares war on England. Nelson is blockading Toulon, but Villeneuve's fleet evades him in late March 1805, starting the chain of events that will lead to the battle of Trafalgar in October .

The book begins shortly after the capture of the Spanish treasure in late autumn of 1804 (last leaves on the trees). Lord Melville has been replaced (Melville actually served from May 1804 to April 30, 1805).

Jack is on blockade duty off Toulon under Nelson. He leaves the blockade to go to Port Mahon to rescue Stephen. This must be before the end of March 1805 (Villeneuve escapes blockade).

* Oct 21, 1805: Battle of Trafalgar

* Jan. 1806: British retake Cape Town

The remainder of the book is not tied very strongly to any actual events. SURPRISE probably sails for East Indies in the spring of 1805.

A reference to the position of the sun while off South America indicates that they are in the southern tropics somewhat before the spring equinox.

They bypass Cape Town which is in Dutch hands at the time. The action between the East India convoy and Linois' squadron is apparently based upon a real event in February 1804.

On the return voyage, SURPRISE appears to bypass Cape Town once again, implying that it is still in Dutch hands. Jack is back in England in 1806, where he visits his distant cousin Capt. Broke (mentioned in Fortune of War).

Source:

This is the plot summary of HMS Surprise so beware this is a spoiler:

(view spoiler)[






(hide spoiler)]


Source: Wikipedia

Paintings, Plans, Diagrams and History of the HMS Surprise

Here are some articles from Dear Surprise which may prove helpful but please beware that some of these may contain spoilers:

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Music in the Aubrey/Maturin Series

Le Nozze di Figaro, “Deh vieni, non tardar�� [MCO:76 (66), 302 (257)] [HMS:54 (45)]

Youtube rendition:

Lucia Popp sings the marvelous "Deh vieni non tardar", from a wonderful Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" conducted by Georg Solti at Paris Opera Garnier in 1980.

The very famous stage production by Giorgio Strelher.

Fabulous cast : Jose Van Dam (Figaro), Lucia Popp (Susanna), Gundula Janowitz (Contessa Almaviva), Gabriel Bacquier (Almaviva), Federica Von Stade (Cherubino), Jane Berbié (Marcellina).



Music in the Aubrey-Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian

Bentley wrote: "The HMS Surprise had been restored in San Diego, California. Of course, this is just the boat which was used in the movie Master and Commander: I had the good fortune to visit this beautiful boat..."

Great link Bentley, I'd love to be able to walk through this boat, what an experience!

It was really beautiful Aussie Rick. The city of San Diego had done a wonderful job.

Sophie in HMS Surprise wants to know more about the geography and the participants in the war:

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies:

From How Stuff Works:

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Sicilies, Kingdom of the Two , a former kingdom consisting of the island of Sicily and southern Italy. In the 11th century, Norman adventurers conquered territory in southern Italy, holding their lands as vassals of the pope. The Norman knights, led by Roger de Hauteville (also called Roger Guiscard), then invaded Sicily, and Roger became its ruler. His son Roger II combined Sicily with the Norman conquests in Italy, and in 1130, with papal approval, a kingdom was created and named the Two Sicilies. Norman expansion on the mainland continued until the kingdom consisted of everything south of the Papal States. Islamic culture, prevalent in Sicily, continued to flourish under the Normans and penetrated into Europe.

In 1194 the kingdom passed to the German Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, through marriage. Frederick II, his son, made Sicily his home and ruled the empire from his capital at Palermo.

In 1266��68 the Two Sicilies were conquered by Charles, count of Anjou, brother of King Louis IX of France. An uprising against the French (an event known as the Sicilian Vespers) broke out in 1282. The revolt, aided by the Spanish house of Aragon, was successful in Sicily, but the Angevins continued to hold southern Italy, renamed the Kingdom of Naples. Naples was reunited with Sicily under Spanish rule in the 1440's.

In the Peace of Utrecht (1713) ending the War of the Spanish Succession, Austria received Naples; it later acquired Sicily. Spanish control over the Two Sicilies was restored in the 1730's by the Bourbons. In the mid-19th century, insurrections against Bourbon rule broke out in Sicily. In 1860 Garibaldi helped drive the Spanish rulers out of the kingdom, which became part of a united Italy.

I didn't know the Rose had permanently become the Surprise. Very interesting. If you ever get to Boston, Bentley, go see the USS Constitution. That is one big hulking battlewagon. When I walk along the side and look into that row of 24 pounders I think, I would not want to have been in a ship on the receiving end of those things back in the 1800's. Call me jingoistic but I did not like the fact that The Acheron in Master & Commander was supposed to have been modeled on the Constitution. As you'll recall, the Surprise takes the Acheron at the end of the movie, which seemed pretty historically inaccurate to me. No sixth rate armed with 18 pounders ever took the Constitution, and my understa nding was that British Navy captains were ordered not to do battle with President class ships alone.

Christopher, I am a New Englander by birth (smile) and have seen and visted the Constitution a couple of times. I wonder why their backs didn't break down below trying to walk around. They must have been quite small back in those days.

I ran into the same thing with Keegan's account of The First World War. You would never have known the US entered it; if you did not read carefully. Although the account of the British involvement in the war was top notch.

I thought your examples are spot on in terms of some of the historically inaccurate portions.

John Keegan

San Diego has done a good job restoring this boat and keeping it in shape alongwith the Star of India. San Diego bought it from Fox. Here is a good youtube video.



And a youtube of it sailing in 2008:

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

P.S. The COnstitution's full complement was over 400. Over 400 guys on that ship!

Amazing, I heard that they even had to share their berths. Yikes.

'Hot bunking' is what they use to call it when I was in the Army:

They strung hammocks from the upper deck cieling and each man was given 18 inches or something like that.

Hammocks were created by native inhabitants of tropical countries for sleeping and were first brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus when he brought many hammocks back to Spain from islands in the present day Bahamas.
The world's navies and marine corps have made frequent use of hammocks over the years. Around 1590, hammocks were applied for use in sailing ships; the Royal Navy formally adopted the canvas sling hammock in 1597. Since a slung hammock sways in unison with the direction of the vessel, the sailor is not likely to be thrown onto the floor during swells or rough seas. Prior to the adoption of naval hammocks, sailors would often be hurt or even killed as they crashed to the floor. The sides of navy issue canvas hammocks wrap around the sleeper like a cocoon, making an accidental fall virtually impossible. Many sailors became so accustomed to this way of sleeping that they brought their hammocks home with them on leave. The naval use of hammocks continued into the 20th century.

http://www.trip-advice.com/en/advice-2490069.htm

They were also useful for splinter netting as they were required to be stowed in racks along the top of a man o' war's rail. I always wondered what did the guys sleep in if the hammocks were torn up by shot?

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "'Hot bunking' is what they use to call it when I was in the Army:

Hot Bunking/Racking"

It wasn't that sanitary for sure..no wonder folks got so sick and everybody caught whatever was going around. You are right Chris; I was blown away by the lack of space.

Baseni wrote: "Hammocks were created by native inhabitants of tropical countries for sleeping and were first brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus when he brought many hammocks back to Spain from islands in t..."

Thank you Baseni..a very interesting post.

The shift changes in the bunks is also described in the literature on the U-boat war. Maybe you remember "The Boat" by Lothar-Günther Buchheim?
Das Boot: The Boat
Lothar-Günther Buchheim

Baseni, I do...thank you.