The Mauritius Command
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{{Infobox Book
| name = The Mauritius Command
| image = [[Image:The_Mauritius_Command_Cover.jpg|200px|Cover by Geoff Hunt for ''The Mauritius Command''.]]
| author = [[Patrick O'Brian]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| cover_artist = Geoff Hunt
| series = [[Aubrey-Maturin series]]
| genre = [[Historical novel]]
| publisher = [[Harper Collins]] (UK)
| release_date = [[1977 in literature|1977]]
| media_type = Print ([[Hardback]] & [[Paperback]]) & Audio Book ([[Compact audio cassette|Cassette]], [[Compact Disc|CD]])
| pages = 294 pages (Hardback edition) & 268 pages (Paperback edition)
| isbn = ISBN 0-00-222383-X (Hardback edition) & ISBN 0-00-615348-8 (Paperback edition UK)
| preceded_by = [[HMS Surprise (novel)|HMS Surprise]]
| followed_by = [[Desolation Island (novel)|Desolation Island]]
}}
{{dablink|This book is part of the [[Aubrey-Maturin series]]}}
'''''The Mauritius Command''''' is a historical naval novel by [[Patrick O'Brian]]. It is fourth in the series of stories that follow the partnership of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. It retells in fictional form the real campaign carried out by the [[Royal Navy]] in 1810 under Commodore [[Josias Rowley]]. As is common to most of the stories, Aubrey's inspired tactical seamanship is a suitable foil for the dramatic and "Machiavellian" scheming of his medical man and intelligence expert Maturin. Both Britain and France need to protect their trade routes and prey on the enemy in the [[Indian Ocean]]. [[Mauritius]] and La [[Réunion]] are suitably placed to be desirable bases for both countries. At the start of the book the French hold the islands and are capturing British ships.
==Plot introduction==
The novel sees Aubrey made [[Commodore (rank)#Royal Navy|Commodore]] in charge of a squadron of ships sent to take the islands of [[Mauritius]] and [[Réunion]] from the [[France|French]], and so protect [[United Kingdom|British]] shipping interests in the [[Indian Ocean]].
==Plot summary==
When the novel begins, Aubrey is at home in his cramped Ashgrove Cottage with his wife, his twin baby girls and his shrewish mother-in-law, Mrs Williams, ashore and without a ship on half pay from the Navy. His spirits are lifted when his long time friend and colleague Stephen Maturin comes to call.
Aubrey is ordered to take command, as the [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] of a small squadron of ships in Cape Town and sails south from [[Portsmouth]] with some of the ships, to the [[Cape of Good Hope]], with instructions to disrupt French interests in the region. Particularly he is charged with taking the islands of [[Mauritius]] and [[La Réunion]]. He is given command of the 38-gun frigate HMS ''[[HMS Boadicea (1797)|Boadicea]]''. The wife of one of his captains, Lady Clonfert, seeks passage with Aubrey to enable her to join her husband but Aubrey is not keen on this and contrives to leave early one morning without her.
The long journey takes the squadron to the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. On the way Aubrey attempts to bring the crew up to his standards of efficiency, but he is only partly successful. They meet with the French ship ''Hebe'' which is escorting a captured merchant ship. After a brief chase the French are overcome and the ships occupied. ''Hebe'' turns out to be HMS ''Hyaena'' captured some time before by the French. He sends the prizes to Gibraltar under the command of the ''Boadicea'''s aged First Lieutenant Akers. Aubrey uses this device to be rid of the officer and send home letters, one of which attempts to excuse his leaving early without Lady Clonfert.
On arrival, Aubrey meets Admiral Bertie and also has to contend with the disparate characters of his captains. One of these is Lord Clonfert, a minor member of the Irish aristocracy who has political influence, and who Jack Aubrey whilst out in the West Indies. They were involved in an action together and he had some reservations at the time about Clonfert's courage. Another is Captain Corbett who is a harsh disciplinarian and drives his men almost to the point of mutiny. Barett Bonden, usually Aubrey's Coxwain, and Preserved Killick request permission to join Aubrey once more, particularly as Bonden was given fifty lashes for an unpolished firing piece on his cannon.
During his campaign Aubrey temporarily switches his pennant to the elderly 64-gun [[ship of the line]] HMS [[HMS Raisonnable (1768)|''Raisonnable'']], but returns to the more weatherly HMS ''Boadicea'' with the onset of the tropical [[typhoon]] season. La Réunion is captured almost bloodlessly after a landing by [[British East India Company]] troops under the cooperative Colonel Keating, their path already softened up by Maturin's propaganda and political machinations. Mauritius proves a tougher nut to crack. As HMS ''Néréide'' is detached to chase the ''Iphigenia'' to Port South East on Mauritius, Maturin suffers a serious fall and spends much time in the company of Lord Clonfert and Mr. McAdam, Clonfert's learned but drunken surgeon. The first demonstrates himself to be a largely ineffective person, craving the fawning attentions of his officers and crew, whilst McAdam, a less convivial conversationalist, is made fun of by the young officers particularly when "in his cups."
However, events worsen on their arrival. Keen to capitalise on the capture of the [[Île de la Passe]] fort, the small group of ships, under the command of the unadventurous but solid Captain Pym, land men and troops to consolidate the land campaign. Whilst so disposed, the French appear with four ships ''Bellone'', ''Minerve'', ''Victor'' & ''Ceylon''. Boldly sailing past the British into the sound, the English are caught unprepared but decide to attack. They struggle to navigate the unfamiliar channel into the harbour and, with two ships running aground, the French are able to bring all their guns to bear on the ships that eventually reach the harbour. The end result is the ''Néréide'' is taken (Clonfert is severely wounded in the neck by and head by a wooden splinter), ''Sirius'' and ''Magiciénne'' are burnt to prevent their capture, and ''Iphigenia'' and the fort Ile de la Passe are abandoned to be retaken by the French. Only a messenger vessel, with Maturin aboard, gets back the La Réunion to inform the commodore of the "ill tidings".
Aubrey immediately rushes to see if ''Iphigenia'' and Ile de la Passe can be saved but the British are chased off after finding both are clearly in the French hands. After eventually making contact with the ''Emma'' transport and the ''Windham'', which itself appears to be unseaworthy, Aubrey believes his fortunes have changed when HMS ''Africaine'' - now commanded by Captain Corbett - re-joins them. Sailing in chase of the French during the night ''Africaine'', clashes with the ''Astrée'' and the renamed ''Iphigenia'' (once again the French ''Iphigenie''). But the encounter goes badly and Corbett is killed during the fight, probably, as the ship's surgeon informs Maturin later, by his own oppressed men. The French capture the ship, but leave it dismasted when the ''Boadicea'' and Aubrey bear down on them and, much to Aubrey's joy, refuse an engagement. Joined by the ''Otter'' and ''Staunch'', the flotilla eventually reaches harbour and ''Africaine's'' refit is the Commodore's top priority.
Before repairs are complete the ''Pearl'' races towards harbour, meeting HMS ''Boadicea'' with the news that ''Bombay'' is nearby, being pounded by both the French ''Vénus'' and ''Victor''. Outrunning the ''Staunch'' and ''Otter'', Jack engages the pair who have captured ''Bombay'' and makes use of extra volunteer crew from the refitting HMS ''Africaine'' to board both ''Bombay'', recapturing her, and the ''Venus''. During the encounter the French Commodore, Hamelin, is killed by grapnel in his heart. Now with news that ''Bellone'' and ''Minerve'' are almost certainly "heaved down", and ''Iphigenia'' and ''Néréide'' are likely to be of little use even if refitted, Aubrey believes the tide has turned in his favour. En-route from St. Denis to take Mauritius from the French, the squadron encounters a large British force under the command of Admiral Bertie, who proceeds to steal Aubrey and Keating's thunder by taking command of the whole invasion force and claiming the honours. However, news of the birth of his son causes Aubrey to remain ebullient even when everyone expects his mood to be downcast.
The final invasion, based almost entirely on Aubrey and Keating's original plan, is almost without bloodshed. The French capitulate after being given honourable terms, and Maturin finds that Captain Clonfert has committed suicide by removing the bandages from his wounds whilst captured, unable to face up to the jubilance of his rival, Jack Aubrey, in victory. A ceremonial dinner is given back in Cape Town and Admiral Bertie, who is not a complete scrub, gives Aubrey the honour of taking the dispatches aboard the ''Boadicea'' and sailing for England in compensation for "stealing" his victory.
==Characters in "The Mauritius Command"==
''See also [[Recurring characters in the Aubrey–Maturin series]]''
*Jack Aubrey - Captain in the Royal Navy and appointed Commodore during this story. Also captain of HMS ''Boadicea''.
*Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack, and intelligence officer.
*Captain Pym - captain of HMS ''Sirius''
*Lord Clonfert - captain of HMS ''Otter'' and then HMS ''Néréide''
*Captain Corbett - captain of HMS ''Néréide'' and then HMS '''Africaine''
*Lady Clonfert - wife to the above, wanted passage with the squadron
*Captain Eliot - captain in HMS ''Raisonnable''
*Mrs. Williams - Jack's mother in law, now bankrupt.
*Sophie Aubrey - Jack's long suffering and patient wife.
*Charlotte and Fanny - Jack and Sophie's twin, infant daughters.
*Cecilia - Young daughter of Mrs. William's middle daughter. Niece of Sophie and Jack.
*Bessie - cook at Ashgrove Cottage
*Lt. Colonel H Keating - army commander
*Colonel Fraser
*Colonel McLeod
*Tom Pullings
*Mr. Farquhar - temporary governor of La Réunion
*Mr. John Fellowes - Bosun
*Bonden - Jack's Coxswain
*Colonel Saint-Susanne - French army commander on La Réunion
*Killick - Jack's steward
*Captain Lambert -
*Captain Curtis -
*Hamelin - French commodore, based in the ''Vénus''
*Lord Narborough (Garron) - captain of HMS ''Staunch''
*Lt. Webber - 2nd in HMS ''Néréide''
*Lt. Lemuel Akers - 1st in HMS ''Boadicea'' detached to sail HMS ''Hyaena'' to Gibraltar.
*Duvallier - French commander in Port South East
*McAdams - Surgeon in HMS ''Néréide''
*Mr. Satterly - Master in HMS ''Néréide''
*L.t. Seymour - 2nd in HMS ''Boadicea'' (acting 1st)
*L.t. Trollope- 3rd in HMS ''Boadicea'' (acting 2nd)
*Johnson - master's mate in HMS ''Boadicea''
*Admiral Bertie - who calls a halt to independence of the Squadron
*General Abercrombie - commander of the invasion army
*[[Vasily Golovnin|Golovnin]] - Russian fleet lieutenant, captain of sloop ''Diana''
*Fortisque (sp?)- captain of the schooner ''Wasp''
==Ships in "The Mauritius Command"==
===The Squadron===
*[[HMS Boadicea (1797)|HMS ''Boadicea'']] *
*[[HMS Raisonnable (1768)|HMS ''Raisonnable'']] *
*[[HMS Sirius (1797)|HMS ''Sirius'']] *
*[[HMS Nereide|HMS ''Néréide'']] *
*HMS ''Otter''
*[[HMS Magicienne|HMS ''Magiciénne'']]*
*HMS ''Staunch'' * - brig
*[[HMS Iphigenia (1805)|HMS ''Iphigenia'']] *
*[[French ship L'Africaine|HMS ''Africaine'']] *
*''Bombay'' - Indiaman
*''Wyndham'' - Indiaman used as transport once recaptured
*''Kite'' - transport
*''Solebay'' - transport
*''Emma'' - transport
*[[HMS Leopard (1790)|HMS ''Leopard'']] *
*''Wasp'' - schooner
===The French===
*''Bellone'' *
*''Minerve'' * - frigate
*''Victor'' * - corvette
*''Ceylon'' * - captured British Indiaman
*''Wyndham'' * - captured British Indiaman
*''Vénus'' - frigate
*''Manche'' - frigate
*''Astrée''
::: * n.b. were real ships during the period depicted.
==Major themes==
The novel is based upon a real campaign carried out by the [[Royal Navy]] in 1810 under Commodore [[Josias Rowley]].
The novel gives further scope to Maturin's role as both a secret agent (in which he uses [[propaganda]] effectively to support the campaign) and as a naturalist (in which he is seen collecting relics of the extinct birds the [[Dodo]] and the [[Réunion Sacred Ibis|Solitaire]]).
O'Brian used literary license in making Aubrey a Commodore when he wasn't a very senior captain. At that time, a captain would spend twenty years or more on the Captain's list before his promotion to Admiral. A Commodore's appointment was a considerable plum, and only very senior captains received them. On a remote station, when an admiral would have to draw on the captains on station, it would be a different matter. But Aubrey was appointed directly by the Admiralty to a post that, traditionally, would have come to an officer more than a dozen years more senior.
==Allusions/references to other works==
The plot of the novel is very closely based upon a real campaign carried out by the Royal Navy in 1810 under Commodore [[Josias Rowley]]. O'Brian notes this in the preface. The island was formally captured on [[3 December]] [[1810]] (See also [[History of Mauritius]].)
Dotted around the story are allusions to ideas and thinking of others. But most striking is when a character actually quotes from literature. At one point Aubrey is recorded "adding, not without pride, ''Ex Africa surgit semper aliquid novo, – novi, eh?''" ("Always something new coming out of Africa".) This is the popular version of a quotation from Pliny the Elder, "u''nde etiam vulgare Graeciae dictum semper aliquid novi Africam adferre''" <ref>Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 8, xvii : [http://www.hmssurprise.org/Resources/CanonQuot.html#MC (incorrectly) referenced here]. Pliny was talking about lions at the time.</ref> – "Whence the common saying among the Greeks, 'Africa always offers something new'."
Later Maturin is found quoting, [[Samuel Johnson]], "Every man would be a coward if he durst" <ref>Samuel Johnson, Lives of thePoets, on Rochester : [http://www.hmssurprise.org/Resources/CanonQuot.html#MC again referenced here]</ref>
Throughout we have allusions and quotes from [[Shakespeare]], [[Lewis Carroll]] and [[Horace]]. <ref>general literary allusions [http://www.hmssurprise.org/Resources/CanonQuot.html#MC link]</ref>
==Literary significance & criticism==
<blockquote>"Jack's assignment: to capture the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius from the French. That campaign forms the narrative thread of this rollicking sea saga. But its substance is more beguiling still..."—Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek <ref>[http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/backlist/mauritius.htm Elizabeth Peer, Newsweek quoted on WW Norton site]</ref>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>"O'Brian's sheer brilliance as a writer constantly dazzles, and his power over the reader is unique. No writer alive can move one as O'Brian can; no one can make you laugh so loud with hilarity, whiten your knuckles with unbearable tension or choke with emotion. He is the master." — Kevin Myers, Irish Times <ref>[http://www2.wwnorton.com/pob/quotes.htm Kevin Myers, Irish Times as quoted on WW Norton site]</ref>
</blockquote>
===Reviews===
*{{cite journal | author=? | title=The Mauritius Command | journal=Kirkus Reviews | year=1978 | volume=15 May | pages=}}
*{{cite journal | author=[[T. J. Binyon]] | title=The Mauritius Command | journal=Times Literary Supplement | year=1977 | volume=24 June | pages=}}
*{{cite journal | author=Elizabeth Peer | title=The Mauritius Command | journal=Newsweek | year=1978 | volume=31 July | pages=}}
==Release details==
*1977, UK, Collins Publishers (ISBN 0-00-222383-X), Pub Date ? ? 1977, Hardcover
*1978, UK, Fontana (ISBN 0-00-615348-8), Pub Date ? May 1978, Paperback
*1978, USA, Stein & Day (ISBN 0-8128-2476-8), Pub Date ? May 1978, Hardcover edition
*1989, UK, Fontana (ISBN 0-00-616574-5), Pub Date 9 February 1989, Paperback
*1991, USA, W. W. Norton & Company (ISBN 0-393-30762-X), Pub date ? May 1991, Paperback Reprint edition
*1992, USA, William A. Thomas Braille Bookstore (ISBN 1-56956-071-4), Pub date ? December 1992, Hardcover edition
*1993, UK, ISIS Audio Books (ISBN 1-85089-871-5), Pub date ? April 1993, Audio book (Cassette), Patrick Tull (Narrator)
*1994, USA, W. W. Norton & Company (ISBN 0-393-03704-5), Pub date ? ? 1994, Hardcover Reprint edition
*1996, UK, Harper Collins (ISBN 0-00-649918-X), Pub date 2 September 1996, Paperback
*1997, UK, Harper Collins (ISBN 0-00-105295-0), Pub date 20 January 1997, Audio book (Cassette), Robert Hardy (Narrator)
*2000, USA, Thorndike Press (ISBN 0-7862-1935-1), Pub Date ? November 2000, Hardcover
*2001, UK, Chivers (ISBN 0-7540-1519-X), Pub date 1 March 2001, Hardcover Large-print edition
*2001, UK, Recorded Books Unabridged (ISBN 1-4025-0223-0), Pub date ? September 2001, Recorded unknown, Patrick Tull (Narrator)
*2001, UK, Chivers (ISBN 0-7540-2398-2), Pub date 1 December 2001, Paperback Large-print edition
*2002, UK, Soundings (ISBN 1-84283-263-8), Pub date ? September 2002, Audio book (CD), [[Stephen Thorne]] (Narrator)
*2004, USA, Blackstone Audiobooks (ISBN 0-7861-8562-7), Unabridged audio edition, Pub date August 2004, MP3 CD, Simon Vance (Narrator)
*2004, USA, Blackstone Audiobooks (ISBN 0-7861-8459-0), Unabridged audio edition, Pub date August 2004, MP3 CD, Simon Vance (Narrator)
==Sources, references, external links, quotations==
*{{cite book | author=Richard O'Neill | title=Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World | publisher=Running Press | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-7624-1540-1 }}
*{{cite book | author=Dean King | title=A Sea of Words: Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales | publisher=Henry Holt | year=2001 | id=ISBN 0-8050-6615-2 }}
*{{cite book | author=Dean King | title=Harbors and High Seas: Map Book and Geographical Guide to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian | publisher=Henry Holt | year=2001 | id=ISBN 0-8050-6614-4 }}
*{{cite book | author=Brian Lavery | title=Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian | publisher=Conway Maritime | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-85177-946-8 }}
*{{cite book | author=Anne Chotzinoff Grossman, Lisa Grossman Thomas | title=Lobscouse and Spotted Dog: Which Is a Gastronomic Companion to the Aubrey/Maturin Novels | publisher=W W Norton & Co Ltd | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-393-32094-4 }}
*{{cite book | author=David Miller | title=The World of Jack Aubrey: Twelve-Pounders, Frigates, Cutlasses, and Insignia of His Majesty's Royal Navy | publisher=Running Press Book Publishers | year=2003 | id=ISBN 0-7624-1652-1 }}
*{{cite book | author=A.E. Cunningham (Editor) | title=Patrick O'Brian: A Bibliography and Critical Appreciation | publisher=British Library Publishing Division | year=1994 | id=ISBN 0-7123-1071-1 }}
==Footnotes==
<references />
{{PatrickOBriansWork}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauritius Command, The}}
[[Category:1977 novels]]
[[Category:Historical novels]]
[[Category:Napoleonic War novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Patrick O'Brian]]
[[de:Geheimauftrag Mauritius]]