21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey

Aubrey & Maturin #21

by Patrick O'Brian, Richard Snow (Afterword)

To the delight of millions of Patrick O'Brian fans, here is the final, partial installment of the Aubrey/Maturin series, for the first time in paperback.

Blue at the Mizzen (novel #20) ended with Jack Aubrey getting the news, in Chile, of his elevation to flag rank: Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron, with orders to sail to the South Africa station. The next novel, unfinished and untitled at the time of the author's death, would have been the chronicle of that mission, and much else besides. The three chapters left on O'Brian's desk are presented here both in printed version-including his corrections to the typescript-and a facsimile of his manuscript, which goes several pages beyond the end of the typescript to include a duel between Stephen Maturin and an impertinent officer who is courting his fiancée.




Of course we would rather have had the whole story; instead we have this proof that O'Brian's powers of observation, his humor, and his understanding of his characters were undiminished to the end.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Nautical, Audiobook, Adventure, Military Fiction

145 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels has been described as "a masterpiece" (David Mamet, New York Times), "addictively readable" (Patrick T. Reardon, Chicago Tribune), and "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times Book Review), which "should have been on those lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century" (George Will).

Set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, O'Brian's twenty-volume series centers on the enduring friendship between naval officer Jack Aubrey and physician (and spy) Stephen Maturin. The Far Side of the World, the tenth book in the series, was adapted into a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film was nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture. The books are now available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book format.

In addition to the Aubrey-Maturin novels, Patrick O'Brian wrote several books including the novels Testimonies, The Golden Ocean, and The Unknown Shore, as well as biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso. He translated many works from French into English, among them the novels and memoirs of Simone de Beauvoir, the first volume of Jean Lacouture's biography of Charles de Gaulle, and famed fugitive Henri Cherriere's memoir Papillon. O'Brian died in January 2000.

The Aubrey-Maturin Series on Goodreads

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 65-page fragment of a novel is only rewarding to fans of the series who want to say goodbye to one of the greatest fictional friendships in literature. We get to experience one last time the special bonds between British naval commander Jack Aubrey and his ship's doctor Stephen Maturin, who is also a naturalist and intelligence agent. In many ways, the last novel "Blue at the Mizzen" was a fitting end to the 20-volume series. Napolean Bonaparte has been defeated and to avoid retirement, Stephen has purchased the frigate Jack first captained, the "Surprise", and together with old crewmates they have hired themselves out to Chile to support their struggle for independence from Spain. But if you can't resist one last look, the short read (or audiobook listen as I did) could bring a bit of healing closure.

Here the interests of the British Empire in having a naval force in South America lead to Aubrey's commissioning as a rear admiral, and we tap into preparations of his new ship-of-the-line and the setting out of his small flotilla on an unclear mission. We get the pleasure of Stephen dissecting strange birds, his playing music and joking with Jack, the surly steward Killick serving up the delight of toasted cheese one last time. Jack is happy to see his half-black bastard son doing well in the service. We get to experience a happy reunion of Jack with his wife Sophy and twin daughters and Stephen with his daughter Christine aboard the flagship. In my memory and imagination Jack and Stephen will continue forever to be happy and headed for adventure and accomplishment.

An afterward piece in the book covers the struggle for O'Brian to get published and build a following. Eventually in England they started to shelve his books in "general literature" instead of "naval history" shelves. The public began to take seriously his literary worth and critics' comparison of his writing to that of Jane Austen.
Due to the movie "Master and Commander", many of his books were reprinted in America, and he was at the peak of success as he worked on this manuscript at 86 while he struggled with fatal illness in 2000.

[Malacorda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sapevo sin dall'inizio che tante domande e curiosità sarebbero rimaste prive di risposte, ma a ben vedere proprio in questa consapevolezza ho trovato il coraggio di avventurarmi nell'ultimo, brevissimo ed incompiuto episodio. Se avessi saputo che si trattava di una fine vera e propria in cui uno o più dei personaggi principali avessero trovato la morte, o il congedo definitivo o chissà che altro genere di passo definitivo, no, non ce l'avrei fatta. E invece questa fine, per quanto imposta da cause di forza maggiore, mette il cliffhanger in un punto che davvero più adeguato non poteva essere. Se cliffhanger doveva essere, per la mia modesta opinione non poteva essere in un punto più perfetto di questo. Un finale che non impone un vero e proprio addio ma è solo un gradino da cui spiccare un volo: i personaggi, e con essi il lettore.

Una curiosità: prendo nota di una clamorosa svista di O'Brian che nel volume precedente aveva fatto morire l'aiuto nocchiere Algernon Wantage di malaria o qualcosa di simile, e invece qui lo ha fatto clamorosamente resuscitare. Ma del resto questa che vediamo qui pubblicata era una bozza dattiloscritta che con ogni probabilità andava soggetta a ulteriori modifiche e revisioni e correzioni; ed in ogni caso arrivati a questo punto l'affetto è tale e tanto che all'autore si potrebbe perdonare qualsiasi svista, e intendo proprio qualsiasi.

La pagina che riporta la dicitura "il dattiloscritto termina qui", su una frase di Stephen interrotta a metà, è quanto mai commovente e mi fa semplicemente sentire grata per tutto il tempo che ho potuto trascorrere in compagnia degli amati personaggi e durante il quale, in certo modo, ho potuto sentirmi parte della loro storia.

Altri commenti relativi alla serie nella sua interezza mi paiono superflui in quanto sarebbero una mera ripetizione di quanto sono già andata scrivendo di man in mano, per ogni episodio, nel corso degli ultimi due anni: la freschezza del racconto, la capacità di usare sempre il medesimo pattern pur senza risultare ripetitivo, la creazione di personaggi cui è impossibile non affezionarsi, l'attenzione nella psicologia dei personaggi secondari, la cura nei dettagli della ricostruzione storica sia di eventi storicamente accaduti che di eventi di fiction... insomma, i pregi della serie sono tanti e tali che il valore aggiunto dato dalle sue dimensioni e dalla costanza della qualità, fa sì che le si possano assegnare cinque stelle senza tema di smentita.

Completa il volume una corposa appendice in tema di Royal Navy in cui vengono messi a confronto eventi e personaggi storicamente reali con gli eventi e i personaggi di fiction: non solo interessante e ben scritta (a ben vedere, se opportunamente sfrondata di qualche spoilerata, potrebbe anche essere utilizzata da un neofita come prefazione per l'intera serie) ma ha anche l'indubbio pregio di permettere al lettore sconfortato e naufrago di restare in compagnia dei suoi beniamini ancora per un po'.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arrrrrrgh! The improbable yet delightful possibilities introduced here, never to be fully realized save in our fervent imaginations.

I'm not much of an advocate for the trend of posthumous continuations of famous characters (Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander and the like) by new authors but should one equal to the task, which in spite of the wealth of talented writers in England and abroad is nonetheless unlikely, ever come forward I would welcome the continued voyages of Jack and Stephen, for all love.

For now, let us rest content that our friends are reunited with family and friends, Jack has seen his eldest natural son Sam Panda rise about as high in the (European colonial) world as a black man could probably hope, and Stephen is to have the chance to tweak the nose of the deposed tyrant he so long sought to vex from the shadows via his naval intelligence work in person.


Sail on, my particular friends...

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in 2009, and its the 21st volume of the wonderful "Aubrey/Maturin" series.

Sadly this book is unfinished, due to the sad death of the author in 2000, and this is what's left of it before Patrick O'Brian died.

It was certainly to become another wonderful seafaring tale, in which Aubrey, promoted after his exploits in Chile to Rear-Admiral of the Blue Squadron, and his friend Maturin are on their way to South Africa station.

At that station Maturin will become involved in a duel with an impertinent officer, who made advances to Maturin's fiancée, and that's about it what was left of the novel at the time of the author's death.

It would certainly have become another marvellous addition to this tremendous series, and that's why (4 STARS) I like to call this very last episode: A Sadly Final Unfinished Voyage"!

[Phillip Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short book shows us a glimpse of what might have been if Patrick O' Brian had lived to write his final novel and makes you sad to think of what might have been. The author should have designated someone to complete his book or just let in stay in the archives.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad day. I've now read all the Aubrey/Maturin stories for the first time. In a way I wish I could forget all of them so I can read and experience the joy of finding a new author to savor.

Anyway, this partial book really wasn't a story as it is incomplete but still gave glimpses into the domestic relations both Stephen and Jack have. It also shows their subtle sense of humor when interacting with one another.

No big sea battle here, but more a one last quiet look into the world they are surrounded in.

I will miss any new adventures for sure and hope that I can find another series which captivated me as this one has. Appropriately, Patrick O'Brian writes: "Quietly indeed they sailed along, with gentle breezes that wafted them generally northwards at something in the nature of five miles in the hour, northwards to even warmer seas..." and may their voyage ever continue with new readers!

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I started this series last July. It has been enjoyable to read and I feel a sense of loss that I can't follow Jack and Stephen on any more adventures. More than the adventures, which were tame compared to many other books, the pleasant language and craftsmanship of the books are what made for a great experience. Patrick O'brien's wit and prose out strip any contemporary author I have read. It rivals the greats like Victor Hugo and even outstrips many since it was written in english and not a translation. Book 21 showed off his talents by showing an unfinished manuscript in it's various states and shows that to get the well crafted books he turned out it took a lot of effort.

[Corto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shouldn't give this 5 Stars...but what the hell! Not a complete novel, but I like it because POB loved these characters and this blue world so much, wrote unto his death! Fair winds and following seas, Sir!

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew that 21 is only a fragment of O'Brian's early working through the next Aubrey/Maturin story--and I could see from the appearance of the book itself that it is quite short--and so my expectations were set quite low. I looked for it to be only a last souvenir of a series that I have loved. It is all that, of course. But I was surprised at just how much substance O'Brian set down on paper before his death ended the series forever. Like the completed volumes that end the series, there is much that seems just repetition of scenes I've already read in the series. But there is a bigger glimmer of hope for the next stage of the Aubrey/Maturin saga than I saw in the last couple of books. Maybe there would've been 5 or 10 more stories, if O'Brian had lived to write them.

Anyway, I found this a surprisingly satisfying, enjoyable read--though I do wish that the editors had at least attempted typing up the final manuscript pages, as the handwriting is pretty tough to decipher in places (and I see that someone else has done so, here). Having access to the unfinished manuscript makes the end of the series seem somehow less final and severe. We can imagine that the story goes on and on.

My reviews of the Aubrey/Maturin series:

Master and Commander

Post Captain

H.M.S. Surprise

The Mauritius Command

Desolation Island

The Fortune of War

The Surgeon's Mate

The Ionian Mission

Treason's Harbour

The Far Side of the World

The Reverse of the Medal

The Letter of Marque

The Thirteen-Gun Salute

The Nutmeg of Consolation

Clarissa Oakes

The Wine-Dark Sea

The Commodore

The Yellow Admiral

The Hundred Days

Blue at the Mizzen

21

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first Patrick O'Brian book I have read/listened too and it was the last one he wrote. It was a 3 disc CD. I didn't like the narrator. The book was incomplete, O'Brian only completed 63 pages before he died. There was too much conversation, and no action. Also I became confused when the Captain and the Doc were talking about family. First they talked about their family in England/Scotland. All of a sudden the family was in Argentina. Then the family was to sail back to England in one ship; all of a sudden they were on another ship. I didn't hear any transition. I am giving the author room since he didn't have time to edit and change things before he died.
I hope the other books are not written like this. I intended to read the entire series, all other 20 books.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most memorable aspect of this brief book is O'Brian dying in mid-sentence and the regret of everything coming to an abrupt end...

[Miguel Angel Pedrajas · Rating 3 out of 5]

While technically not a book at only 64 pages of an unfinished manuscript, I felt compelled to read "The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey". Although Patrick O'Brian died while writing the third chapter, this glimpse into the unfinished story was fascinating for fans like myself.

This edition, which has not been published in Spanish, includes both the handwritten manuscript pages and their transcribed versions. It offers a unique opportunity to understand O'Brian's writing style and creative process. However, accessing these unpolished materials feels somewhat intrusive, like entering an author's personal space during the creation process.

The manuscript ends abruptly at chapter three, just as the plot begins to unfold. This leaves us wondering where O'Brian intended to take the story and what new adventures awaited his characters. Despite the unfinished nature of the work, this journey into O'Brian's final thoughts on the beloved Aubrey-Maturin series was truly captivating.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Aubrey/Maturin series fanatics only, and yet... I just re-read the entire 20-book series from start to finish for what must be at least the fourth time and this time I wanted to peer into the unfinished final volume (even though the ending of Blue at the Mizzen was in many ways a perfect ending to the series, with Jack finally ordered to hoist his broad pennant and ascend to flag rank, his life's ambition).

The secondary benefit of seeing facsimiles of the author's handwritten drafts, cross-outs, and notes to self is a wonderful encouragement to the aspiring writer.

This series appeals to the science fiction reading adolescent in me. It's total immersion in another universe, one strangely like our own, but in this case historical rather than speculative. If there is steampunk then perhaps this could be called windpunk.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There isn't much I haven't shared
With you along the road
And through it all there'd always be
Tomorrow's episode

Well, that's it. Now that I think back to the first book the road ahead seemed long but in the end I hardly remember the journey but for how it made me feel. And I really got used to the fact that there is always a next book and got attached to the characters and all of their quirks.
This final one was a delight - it brought everything I love in the series: dialogues and Jack trying his best to be careful with words, Stephen fighting a duel, the irony of Stephen's daughter being a better sailor than Jack's twins.
And now I'll just pretend that Jack and Stephen continued to sail the oceans in search of new adventures and new species.

P.S. Спасибо Оле за рекомендацию когда-то - так бы и не знала об этих книгах - можно сказать "открыла целый новый мир" морских приключений :)

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t read the prior 20 installments in this magnificent series. It’s only three chapters. If, however, like me, you have read them all, it’s a mandatory read – albeit a sad parting. (I have owned the book for over a year, and just now found a quiet time in my life to read these final pages.) I feel as if I am saying goodbye to lifelong friends – Admiral Jack Aubrey (he finally made the rank!) and his friend, physician Stephen Maturin.

With the first book, I quickly became fascinated with the naval information. (These sailors were skilled and BRAVE men.) In the final analysis, it was Patrick O'Brian’s spectacular main characters that I came to enjoy the most.

We leave Aubrey and Maturin knowing that the war is over, their families are well and that their lives are good.

I'll miss them.

[George Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to Patrick Tull read the typescript of the final fragment of the Aubrey-Maturin series. It's a bittersweet moment. Patrick O'Brian died in mid-sentence but his characters are in a good place. Jack Aubrey has finally been promoted to admiral. Stephen Maturin has found a new love.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad that the author died before completing the book. The end of a truly epic series!

[Alex Sarll]

The title, obviously, is a disgrace: it should be The Final Unfinished Voyage Of Jack Aubrey And Stephen Maturin. We open on the latter, struggling to write a letter, and already there's a pang, knowing that his creator would never get this last missive ready to send. Over and over I would find myself misting up at the least things - realising this was their last toasted cheese; even just the phrase "a nimble weatherly ship like Surprise". And yet the next page would crack me up with some ridiculous business about buying cabbages from a werewolf. Very little happens here – no grand naval battles of the sort the uninitiated expect to fill these books, and not even that much in the way of bowsprits &c; it's more a prelude with light politics, whether international, naval, or domestic. Maybe more would have developed over another 100+ pages, but given the other late O'Brian's, that's by no means guaranteed. Not that it ever mattered; just spending time with them was the delight, and so it is again here.

I don't always go in for last, incomplete books, and that decision can if anything be more finely balanced still when it comes to my favourite authors – even had it been finished, I'm not sure I could bring myself to read a book with a title so blasphemous as Sunset At Blandings. But Blandings is a place that should remain eternal, idyllic, rather than fading out to a mere sketch. Whereas Jack and Stephen...they're adventurers, explorers, voyagers. Seeing them sail out of view into the mists at the edge of the map, while still bittersweet at best, is a different matter altogether. More consolation still: now I've hit the end, I can go back and read all those early books from before I came in.

[Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, three chapters and we're done but quite a lovely 3 chapters. We get the barest threads about what might have transpired in the rest of the book but mainly this is our epilogue with Sam Panda, Sophie, the Aubrey children and Brigid and so a lovely little book end.

On top of that we have two interesting essays on the work and O'Brian's writing in general.

My one issue is there's a chunk of the last chapter that wasn't typed up which you can in theory read in the facsimile manuscript. However, the digital version is a huge trial to read on top of my personal inability to make sense of his handwriting, so I was forced to read a summary.

Why the publishers didn't transcribe that bit too I am unsure.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its tough to rate this, since its only 3 chapters and the first chapter is more or less notes for further expansion on events. The last half of the third chapter is in nearly illegible handwriting which for some reason the publishers did not see fit to transcribe into print.

There are some interesting bits, but not enough to really capture the imagination. By this time, O'Brian had so fallen in love with his characters that he really did not put them into serious peril, and any peril is resolved within the same chapter.

But it would have been nice to see the final finished book.

[Gregory Melahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started the Aubrey/Maturin series six months ago, finishing this last book in the series this afternoon. It’s not a complete book, containing just three chapters, ending in mid-sentence, with the death of the author, Patrick O’Brian.

The series is simply amazing. I find it hard to believe the two main characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, are merely fictional, so real have they become in my mind, and so full of detail is the world O’Brian created.

I wanted it to go on forever.

[Mlbowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Far too short - would have been an excellent finish

[Morgan McGuire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hell yes, I am giving five stars to three barely edited chapters of an unfinished book. And now I will go back to book 1 and start over, happily.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished the series; I started 10 years ago back in 2013. I have loved these books. I enjoyed the afterword that provided context to the legacy of O'Brian's lifework. It was an honor to have read them.

I feel saddened that this book was not completed. I rather enjoyed the setup and beginning parts, especially now that Aubrey is an Admiral, and gets to enjoy the company of his family at this new station.

[Mythlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice to see Jack and Stephen one last time, with hints of possible domestic happiness aboard.

[Bob Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Patrick O'Brian for taking us on this journey with you. It was a great adventure.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shame that it couldn't be completed, but I think it's a fitting end. Our last glimpse of Aubrey and Maturin, preparing for another voyage, and then...? That the rest will have to be filled in by our imaginations is as it should be. I'd rather imagine that their voyages continue on and on. Being unfinished, "21" is rather short. The fact that it's O'Brian's typescript and manuscripts, without the benefit of his editor, is noticeable, but not distracting. There are a few elements in there that I'm sure O'Brian would have excised if he had the chance. The final 20 pages or so appear solely as facsimiles of his manuscript, and were quite difficult to decipher, but "translations" of those pages are available online at various O'Brian fansites. Since I haven't reviewed the previous 20 volumes, and probably won't for quite some time (if ever), I can only say that Patrick O'Brian's writing is rich and engrossing. His series of books detailing the adventures of Aubrey and Maturin are wonderful reading, being vivid descriptions of life at sea in the 18th century, clever and subtlely humorous, attentive to every technical detail, presenting characters with real humanity. All these qualities make this a compelling series. I found myself drawn in, and can say with sincerity that I found myself laughing aloud at times; this has never happened with any other book before. I looked forward to every development, and found the sequences of action (of which there are many in a British man-of-war) exciting, perfectly paced; it was as if you ceased reading and started seeing the action (as corny as that sounds). I honestly started slowing down as I approached the final 5 volumes because I didn't want the series to end. I highly, highly recommend reading his books. I've yet to find their equal. 5 stars for the series.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect ending to the series, left unfinished when O'Brian died at age 85, shortly after the death of his wife. 21 is 21st in the series, and O'Brian never gave it a title. Now-Admiral Aubrey takes over his flag-ship and his small (but as Maturin learned, don't tell HIM that, unless he says it first) squadron, Surprise is sent home for repairs and refitting, and Mrs Aubrey and children, Brigid and Mrs. Wood, and Padeen are brought to the ship to sail with Aubrey.

When the story ends there, it leaves the characters together, happy--and not completed! The reader can safely imagine them still sailing, happy and active, and never killed off, married off, or otherwise disposed of in ways that leave the reader dissatisfied and wishing for more or different.

Now that you endured, here are two reference books that belong on the bookshelf of a Patrick O'Brian fan:

Harbors and High Seas, 3rd Edition : An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the Complete Aubrey-Maturin Novels of Patrick O'Brian, Third Edition
A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O'Brian's Seafaring Tales

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incomplete version of O'Brian's last Aubrey/Maturin novel, which he was writing when he died. The book contains two full chapters, with O'Brian's own typescript on one page and a facsimile of his manuscript on the facing page. There are reproduced manuscript pages for part of the third chapter as well, but as O'Brian's scrawl is almost indecipherable, it makes for very difficult reading. The book would have been greatly improved with a printed version of the final manuscript pages, rendered by an editor or someone else familiar with his hand. Even if those pages could not have been authoritatively transcribed, the interested reader could have still compared them with the typescript and made his/her own choices in questionable cases. But as is, the final pages are almost worthless--hence the four stars. What is readable, however, is as good as ever--and that's pretty darn good, in O'Brian's case.

[Bookmarks Magazine]

The pages of O'Brian's 21st Aubrey novel will leave readers hungry for more. Not surprisingly, 21 neither stands alone as a novel nor serves as a concise conclusion to the series. Instead, it sketches out the details of the start of another Aubrey mission. The bulk of the chapters offers set-pieces describing gunnery practice, grog, deck-swabbing, a hernia operation, and a reunion with Papal Nuncio Samuel Mputa. The pages also contain O'Brian's trademark humor and eagle-eyed observations, if cut short. There's nothing new here for seasoned readers except, perhaps, for an elaborate menu devised by an Argentine grandee. And yet that doesn't diminish the power of this small, unfinished masterpiece.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.