The Fortune Of War by Patrick O'Brian

The Fortune Of War by Patrick O'Brian

The Fortune Of War by Patrick O'Brian opens in Pulo Batang. HMS Leopard struggles into the harbor after being bashed hither and thither from Desolation Island(where we left them in the last book) to Botany Bay. In Botany Bay there was nothing for them, no stores, no spars, no refitting, nothing. Jack Aubrey's jacket is threadbare and Stephen Maturin has a wombat in the cabin. Jack Aubrey is to be sent home in La Fleche and to be given the frigate Acasta of 40 guns. La Fleche has 20 guns and is a sixth rate of 450 tons. The captain of La Fleche, Yorke, was at Trafalgar on the Orion, a ship of the line. He was a 2nd lieutenant. This section where they are having dinner with Yorke is where the part in the Movie Master and Commander where Jack tells Stephen the pun about the "lesser of 2 weevils". The script for the movie is taken word for word from the book.
"Which would you choose?" ...
"Then I would choose the right hand weevil"..
"Don't you know that in the Navy you must always choose the lesser of two weevils..."
Jack Aubrey's puns are like a series of running gags throughout the book The Fortune of War by Patrick O'Brian. They make Jack an endearing chap and lighten the mood and also add a great deal of fun, laughter and entertainment to the Aubrey/Maturin novels.

Jack Aubrey arrives at Cape Town on their way home to England. While there, they find out that they are at war with the USA. The USA have 8 frigates - the Adams, the Constellation, Congress( 32-28 guns), Chesapeake, President, Constitution, and the United States(44 guns, 24 pounders). Around the doldrums, La Fleche catches fire and sinks so they get into the Jolly boat and spend weeks in it. They are picked up by the Java then run into the US frigate the Constitution and battle with her and the british boat gets spanked severely. Their masts are shot down, so they haul down their colors. They are taken prisoner and put into the Constitution and sail for the USA via Cape Fear, Nantucket Island(home of Captain Ahab of Moby Dick fame), past Cape Cod and into Boston Harbor.

Jack Aubrey is put into hospital. The Chesapeake is blockaded in Boston Harbor. The Chesapeake is a 32 gun frigate, with 28 long 18 pounders, 24 30 pounder carronades, 2 18 pounders on her forecastle and one on the quarterdeck. In Boston Stephen Maturin intrigues with with the yankees and french spies and they have to escape via a fishing boat to the Shannon which is blockading Boston Harbor. The Shannon has 38 guns - 18 pounders, has a crew of 330 men, is 150 feet long takes 1000 tons, and is captained by Philip Brook, Jack Aubrey's cousin.

Captain Brook challenges the Chesapeake to come out and fight. They do, and the Shannon is victorious.
"Philip, look aft. She's yours - she's yours. I give you joy of victory."...
".. a sweet smile showed on his bloody face, and he said very quietly, 'Thank you, Jack.'"

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