Master and Commander

Context:

The Patrick O'Brian books are discussed, particularly 'the first one, master and commander' as being 'brilliant on this sort of sense of gnawing anxiety' about getting on the captain's list.

Context:

Referenced as a comparison - Custer's enthusiasm for collecting fossils and scientific specimens is compared to the character Maturin in O'Brian's naval novels.

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Tom describes finally buying this book after years of dismissing it as 'unreadable' and 'this terrible book full of rope.' After doing a big series on Trafalgar and Nelson, he got massively into the Royal Navy and decided to give it another chance based on Dominic's long-standing recommendation. He plans to read it over Christmas.

Context:

Referenced when comparing Darwin and Fitzroy's relationship to that of Aubrey and Maturin, noting Darwin's role as a gentleman companion similar to Dr. Maturin in the naval novels

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Referenced at the beginning when discussing the film Master and Commander, noting it was 'adapted from the novels of Patrick O'Brien'

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Tom mentions Patrick O'Brian's naval fiction in the context of Nelson and naval battles, saying 'This is so Patrick O'Brian' but noting he doesn't like the books because there's 'too much rope.'

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Referenced as a series of novels about the Napoleonic Wars featuring ships at war, often taking place on the far side of the world, used to illustrate that global wars predated WWI