HardeeHarHar Posted January 13, 2022 Share #1 Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) Hey Gang, Hope everyone is doing well in 2022! I wanted to share a little bit about two Christmas gifts I got for my wife (and myself =). One is the Patrick O'Brien Series, which is a beautiful collection of tales including Master and Commander, etc. A lot of complaints have been made regarding the print size and the thin paper, but it is quite an amazing compilation of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and centered on the friendship of the English naval captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. I also bought her A Sea of Words: : A Lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian, written by Dean King, John Hattendorf, and J. Worth Estes. Surprisingly, she actually loved these gifts! They both are truly beautiful works, and the Sea of Words is full of useful information regarding nautical terms, etc., with awesome drawings (albeit few and far between). Edited January 14, 2022 by HardeeHarHar Grammar CiscoH, Canute, druxey and 11 others 14 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenD Posted January 14, 2022 Share #2 Posted January 14, 2022 I might need to get me a copy of "A Sea of Words" I managed to get almost all of my Aubrey Martin series in the older print with Geoff Hunts art on the front. Good font and the pages have an old fashioned feel to them. mtaylor, HardeeHarHar, AJohnson and 2 others 5 Quote Ropes of Scale.com - Rope and cable for the scale modeler. Finished builds: HM Cutter Sherbourne - Caldercraft - 1:64 - 9th century longship - Falkonet - 1:72 Current builds: HMS Snake - Caldercraft - 1:64 - Tender Avos by BenD - Master Korabel - 1:72 - 19th Century Four-Oared Yawl by BenD - Falkonet - 1:24 scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeeHarHar Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share #3 Posted January 14, 2022 @BenD I would love to have the whole series in the older print version! However, I didn’t have the time or knowledge to find a good source before Santa made his rounds…please share if you have any sources. The Sea of Words is pretty awesome! AJohnson, Canute and mtaylor 3 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenD Posted January 14, 2022 Share #4 Posted January 14, 2022 2 hours ago, HardeeHarHar said: please share if you have any sources. The Sea of Words is pretty awesome! I went to every second hand bookstore I could find in Toronto. I don't know where else to check, All I know is the ones I like were printed circa 1996. mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Ropes of Scale.com - Rope and cable for the scale modeler. Finished builds: HM Cutter Sherbourne - Caldercraft - 1:64 - 9th century longship - Falkonet - 1:72 Current builds: HMS Snake - Caldercraft - 1:64 - Tender Avos by BenD - Master Korabel - 1:72 - 19th Century Four-Oared Yawl by BenD - Falkonet - 1:24 scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glbarlow Posted January 14, 2022 Share #5 Posted January 14, 2022 It’s available on Amazon in multiple formats. hollowneck, Canute and mtaylor 3 Quote Regards, Glenn Current Build: HMS Winchelsea Completed Builds: HM Flirt (paused) HM Cutter Cheerful, Lady Nelson, Amati HMS Vanguard, HMS Pegasus, Fair American, HM Granado, HM Pickle, AVS, Pride of Baltimore, Bluenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeeHarHar Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share #6 Posted January 14, 2022 5 hours ago, glbarlow said: It’s available on Amazon in multiple formats. I am/was looking for the whole series in one (and only one) of the older formats… mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelF Posted January 14, 2022 Share #7 Posted January 14, 2022 Thanks for posting this - I'd not seen the Sea of Words book before. I've just found a used second edition on World of Books for £3.99 and free p&p so that'll probably prompt me to read the O'Brian books again. I got the Harper Collins editions in the nineties, and tend to read through the whole series about once a decade. They never go stale. Derek mtaylor, HardeeHarHar, Canute and 2 others 5 Quote Cheers, Derek Current build: Duchess of Kingston On hold: HMS Winchelsea Previous builds: HMS Speedy, English Pinnace, Royal Yacht Caroline (gallery), Victory Cross-section (gallery), US Clipper Albatros, Red Dragon (years ago!) On the stocks: 18th Century Longboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathead Posted January 14, 2022 Share #8 Posted January 14, 2022 Another good companion to the Aubrey-Maturin series is Patrick O'Brian's Navy, a more recent illustrated coffee-table-style book that's laced with detail about the period in an engaging visual format. WalrusGuy, hollowneck, HardeeHarHar and 3 others 5 1 Quote Eric Current builds: scratchbuilt Missouri River steamboat Peerless (1893); 1:1 scale timber-framed outdoor kitchen Nautical builds (kits): USS Cairo; NRG capstan project; NRG half-hull; Viking longship; US revenue cutter; 18th century longboat; Bounty launch Missouri River craft (scratchbuilt): 1853 Missouri River steamboat Arabia; 1865 steamboat Bertrand; Lewis & Clark barge; keelboat; 1876 steamboat Far West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJohnson Posted January 14, 2022 Share #9 Posted January 14, 2022 Another book I would recommend if you are an O'Brian fan is "The Frigate Surprise" by Brian Lavery & Geoff Hunt, by Conway Press. Full of background info and history, plans and Geoff Hunt's beautiful paintings. HardeeHarHar, BenD, chris watton and 6 others 8 1 Quote Andrew Current builds:- HM Cutter Trial - Vanguard models (1/64), HMAV Bounty - Caldercraft (1/64), Hawker-Typhoon-1b-"Car-Door" - Airfix (1/24) Completed (Ship):- "Nisha" - Vanguard Models (1/64), HMS Orestes (Mars) - Caldercraft (1/64), HM Cutter Sherbourne - Caldercraft (1/64), TSS Earnslaw - Paper Shipwright (1/250), Puffer "Starlight" - Paper Shipwright (1/250) Completed (Non-Ship):-Blackburn Buccaneer S.2C - Airfix (1/48), Bristol Beaufort - Airfix (1/72), Mosquito B.XVI - Airfix (1/72), , Sea-Harrier-FRS1 - Airfix (1/72), Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat - Airfix (1/24), De Havilland Chipmunk T.10 - Airfix (1/48), Flamborough Head Lighthouse - Paper Shipwright (1/250) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeeHarHar Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share #10 Posted January 14, 2022 @Cathead @AJohnson Wow, those are great recommendations for the library. I will definitely add those to the top of my wish list. Thanks for the recommendations!! mtaylor, Canute and AJohnson 3 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glbarlow Posted January 14, 2022 Share #11 Posted January 14, 2022 Amazon has the individual books, which I have the entire set, and This hardcover combined set as well as the Sea of Words book. mtaylor, Canute and hollowneck 3 Quote Regards, Glenn Current Build: HMS Winchelsea Completed Builds: HM Flirt (paused) HM Cutter Cheerful, Lady Nelson, Amati HMS Vanguard, HMS Pegasus, Fair American, HM Granado, HM Pickle, AVS, Pride of Baltimore, Bluenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glbarlow Posted January 14, 2022 Share #12 Posted January 14, 2022 5 hours ago, DelF said: for £3.99 Interesting, that same book edition is on the US WOB site for $9.99, maybe they don’t get the exchange rate thing. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Regards, Glenn Current Build: HMS Winchelsea Completed Builds: HM Flirt (paused) HM Cutter Cheerful, Lady Nelson, Amati HMS Vanguard, HMS Pegasus, Fair American, HM Granado, HM Pickle, AVS, Pride of Baltimore, Bluenose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeeHarHar Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share #13 Posted January 14, 2022 (edited) @glbarlow That's the hardcover set I have, but I couldn't take the time to figure out if it was going to be cost-effective to purchase the individual books on Amazon or whether I could find some vendor who had all of the individual books for sale as a collection. Seems like Amazon would be the approach... Edited January 14, 2022 by HardeeHarHar mtaylor, glbarlow, Canute and 1 other 4 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollowneck Posted January 14, 2022 Share #14 Posted January 14, 2022 When I retired fifteen years ago, in 2006, I had lots of free time to read for leisure. I picked-up Patrick O'Brian's "Master & Commander" on a friend's recommendation because he knew I had lived in England. I got hooked, totally consumed for a couple months reading the entire Aubrey/Maturin series; absolutely brilliant writing, storytelling of epic proportions (and really stunning artwork on the book covers). Three years later, Peter Weir made one of THE classic films for us shipmodelheads! Master & Commander: The Far Side of The World. About ten years later in 2013, an embryonic ModelShipWorld was launched. I give my "high fives" to Mr. O'Brian, Mr. Weir and the many, many Tars - and Officers - of MSW for introducing and then guiding me in this fascinating, engaging and challenging world of model ship building. Ron mtaylor, toms10, usedtosail and 4 others 7 Quote Ron Director, Nautical Research Guild Secretary/Newsletter Editor, Philadelphia Ship Model Society Former Member/Secretary for the Connecticut Marine Model Society Current Build: Godspeed 2, (Wyoming, 6-masted Schooner) Completed Builds: HMS Grecian, HMS Sphinx (as HMS Camilla) Ongakuka Maru, (Higaki Kaisen, It Takes A Village), Le Tigre Privateer, HMS Swan, HMS Godspeed, HMS Ardent, HMS Diana, Russian brig Mercury, Elizabethan Warship Revenge, Xebec Syf'Allah, USF Confederacy, HMS Granado, USS Brig Syren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathead Posted January 14, 2022 Share #15 Posted January 14, 2022 It's also worth noting that the series has also been released several times in audiobook format, and I've listened through each. In my opinion, the version with Simon Vance narrating is absolutely fantastic; he captures the characters, dialogue, dialects, and tone of the series perfectly. The version with Patrick Tull as narrator is serviceable, but I don't feel that his narrative choices seem as right; Aubrey comes across as too upper-class patrician, and Maturin is almost an Irish caricature. I feel like Tull is simply reading yet another story, while Vance actually understands and appreciates what he's reading. Others' opinions may vary, of course. Listening to the series really lets you immerse yourself in the world, letting it go by at a reader's pace. If you're fortunate, your local library has them in physical or digital form; I've been able to download both versions that way. Canute, Srodbro, mtaylor and 4 others 6 1 Quote Eric Current builds: scratchbuilt Missouri River steamboat Peerless (1893); 1:1 scale timber-framed outdoor kitchen Nautical builds (kits): USS Cairo; NRG capstan project; NRG half-hull; Viking longship; US revenue cutter; 18th century longboat; Bounty launch Missouri River craft (scratchbuilt): 1853 Missouri River steamboat Arabia; 1865 steamboat Bertrand; Lewis & Clark barge; keelboat; 1876 steamboat Far West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srodbro Posted January 15, 2022 Share #16 Posted January 15, 2022 If you like the books, checkout the podcast “The Lubbers Hole”. Reviews all the books, with some expert commentary and interviews … latest included interview with Geoff Hunt. Great listening while building. CiscoH, HardeeHarHar, mtaylor and 2 others 5 Quote Steve "If they suspect me of intelligence, I am sure it will soon blow over, ha, ha, ha!" -- Jack Aubrey Builds: Yankee Hero, Fannie Gorham, We’re Here, Dapper Tom (x3), New Bedford Whaler, US Brig Lawrence (Niagara), Wyoming (half hull), Fra Berlanga (half hull), Gokstad Viking Ship, Kate Cory, Charles Morgan, Gjoa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe100 Posted January 19, 2022 Share #17 Posted January 19, 2022 Certainly a must read, PoB. Even his early writings answer. I became very interested in the man himself and spent a summer reading about O’Brien’s life. I was absolutely shocked to discover that the man who wrote all of those beautiful books was such a monster. If monster is too harsh, then he was a liar for certain, and that’s being generous. I love his work, but I wouldn’t invite him over for dinner! mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardeeHarHar Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share #18 Posted January 19, 2022 Interesting!! I haven’t heard about the dark side!! mtaylor and Canute 2 Quote Brian Current Builds: HMBV Granado 1/64 Caldercraft; HMS Sphinx 1775 by HardeeHarHar - Vanguard Models 1:64-V2 Completed Build: HMS Bounty's Jolly Boat 1/25 Artesania Latina; Master Korabel - 1:36 Yefin Nikonov's Secret Vessel On the Shelf: HMBV Granado 1/48 CAF Model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathead Posted January 19, 2022 Share #19 Posted January 19, 2022 Most people have a dark side, it's just gotten easier (and more acceptable) to dig it up and flourish it. HardeeHarHar, Srodbro, mtaylor and 1 other 4 Quote Eric Current builds: scratchbuilt Missouri River steamboat Peerless (1893); 1:1 scale timber-framed outdoor kitchen Nautical builds (kits): USS Cairo; NRG capstan project; NRG half-hull; Viking longship; US revenue cutter; 18th century longboat; Bounty launch Missouri River craft (scratchbuilt): 1853 Missouri River steamboat Arabia; 1865 steamboat Bertrand; Lewis & Clark barge; keelboat; 1876 steamboat Far West Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Green Posted January 19, 2022 Share #20 Posted January 19, 2022 Cathead's comment reminds me of Mark Twain's observation: "People are like moons. They all have a dark-side they never show to anybody." Srodbro, EricWilliamMarshall, mtaylor and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe100 Posted January 21, 2022 Share #21 Posted January 21, 2022 Oh yes, O’Brien certainly had a dark side. It’s also interesting to note that although he claimed to have sailed on large sailing ships, and the prodigious, intricate detail about sailing in his books, it seems he had no practical knowledge of sailing in real life. There are a couple examples where real sailors had to intervene to prevent disaster. It does seem that he was good at reading about how ships worked and incorporating these details into his novels. Several folks are on record that they don’t believe he had ever been to sea. It does follow once you read about the rest of the lies he told. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe100 Posted January 22, 2022 Share #22 Posted January 22, 2022 I guess I should clarify. Real sailors had to intervene when they turned a ship over to O’Brien, thinking he knew what he was doing. Canute and mtaylor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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