Patrick O’Brian, Bloody Olde England

I’m sure it says something about my nature, that my favorite series’ of books are the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Aubrey-Maturin books, and Lone Wolf and Cub. Maybe it’s just that I enjoy different varieties; I don’t know. What I do know is I find every book in each of these series’ imminently entertaining.

If you read my recent post, 10 Things I’ve Done That You Probably Haven’t, you’ll possibly have noticed that I mentioned that I’d read the Patrick O’Brian canon. Of the three series’, this one was the longest at 21 books. There are a few other notable books in his canon, but none that compare to Aubrey-Maturin. The naturalist in me respects and is in awe of Dr. Maturin. I’ve laughed at his nerdiness, been impressed by his boldness, and intimidated by his fearlessness. Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey is not nearly as sophisticated nor complex as his running mate, but is equally admirable. You can count on Aubrey to be resolute, defined, pragmatic and explosive when he needs to be.

Before the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World came out, I was sure Jack Aubrey looked just like me. He’s described as being tall and weighing about 16 stone with blonde hair. Right now I’m about 15 stone, but I’m 6′3″ and, when I was reading the bulk of the series I was running along at about 16. But then the movie came out, and now Russell Crowe’s face is indelibly etched in my mind onto the head of Lucky Jack. Still, it’s fun to fantasize that I’m the fearless captain of the Surprise, barking orders, tasting the wind, and endlessly pacing the quarterdeck. The movie itself is decent, drawing from several of the books rather than attempting to follow the series. It’s obvious that this was a one-time shot and would be no Harry Potteresque attempt at recreating the series on the silver screen. It was fun to watch the sea battles. I crank up my home theater and revel in the excitement of full broadsides booming, shaking the windows. I’m not very enamored with the acting in the movie, but I’ll usually lay blame for poor acting on the director’s shoulders, especially when the movie has known good actors, as this one does. Paul Bettany doesn’t fit with my image of Maturin, who should be shorter than Bettany and … I don’t know. Different. But then I’m not a big Paul Bettany fan. So. The movie’s shortcomings I blame on the director.

Also, it’s one of those sets of books that can alter your perceptions. I.E.; I was raised on images of Americans running the Redcoats back across the ocean. The song Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton was one of my favorites as a kid, in which we “Caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans” and sent them running. How much media is focused on Great Britain being the great evil? Movies like Braveheart and Quigley Down Under, as well as The Pirates of the Caribbean, where the Brits’ stuffy bureaucracy complements their ranking officers’ personal ambitions like nobody’s business.

Sure, it’s in our DNA: the majority of citizens of the US are descended from GB castoffs anyway, right? But James Bond did a lot towards allowing me to look upon the Mother country as something more than a bullying windbag. And now, finally, I can look at the face of England with the eye of a brother, wanting to forget the wrongs, glad we’re  friends. Frankly, I’ve visited the Olde Country, and I liked it. I like the people. I like the mood. Maybe I’m just an Anglo wondering about his roots, but in England I see the country that invented naval dominance and gave us Shakespeare, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Patrick O’Brian. And besides: it’s America who’s turned into the bully now, and frankly, that appalls me. I grew up with a Robin Hood mentality. I thought it was a-okay to steal from the rich, stuffy bastards to give to the poor needy folk. And now we are the rich, stuffy bastards, and unfortunately, we don’t quite carry that banner with the class that England did in her heyday.

For a dose of what was good about Great Britain when she was the big shark in the pond, read the Aubrey-Maturin series. You won’t regret it.