Preparing for the Aubrey/Maturin Chapter-a-Week Read-along: Book 1 – Master and Commander

In just a few days the Aubrey/Maturin Chapter-a-Week 4 Year Read-along Odyssey begins. This post is an introduction mostly for those who are unfamiliar with the series or with books set in the Age of Sail. Now, I am about as far from an expert on this series as you can find, but I have read it a few times, so I’ll share a few things that I think might be helpful for a new reader. If you have prior experience with the books I invite you to leave your own tips in the comments section.

A Few Comments on the Read-along Pace

First I want to comment on the chapter-a-week pace. While I have hosted several chapter-a-day read-alongs, this is my first time creating a schedule in which the books are read by the week. I recognize that a slow-paced reading plan like this is not for everyone. If you find yourself getting really enthusiastic about the books and reading them at a quicker pace, no worries. My main goal for this read-along, after all, is to introduce the Aubrey/Maturin books to new readers. A secondary goal, however, is to read the series closely, appreciating the nuances and details. My hope is that the deliberately slow pace opens up a greater awareness of the beauty and depth of O’Brian’s writing.

In looking more closely at the chapter-a-week schedule, it might be helpful to know that each chapter is comprised of unnamed sections of varying lengths signified by a break in the text. For instance, chapter one of Master and Commander has four sections (according to the W.W. Norton paperback edition I own, ISBN 0-393-30705-0), which occur on the following pages:

• Section One: pages 7-14
• Section Two: pages 14-20
• Section Three: pages 20-21
• Section Four: pages 21-33

One way to approach the weekly reading schedule is to read a few days a week, a section at a time. Of course, another way to read is to set aside one day a week and read the entire chapter. In any case, I am sure you will find the pattern that suits you.

Nautical Language

One of the challenges for a new Aubrey/Maturin reader–at least it was for me–is the nautical jargon. O’Brian tries to initiate the reader into nautical terms as his character Stephen Maturin learns them, but O’Brian can’t do that all the time. On the one hand the nautical jargon can seem overwhelming if one is not prepared for it. On the other hand, navigating the nautical and historical terminology is not much different than wrestling with character names in Russian literature or imaginary names and places in fantasy literature.

There are a couple of approaches one can take to the nautical jargon. Perhaps the most straightforward way is, as Lucy Eyre suggests, to simply “let it all wash over you – like the fast-talking political detail in The West Wing, or the slang in The Wire – and form a general impression of whether the wind is causing problems or the French ship is about to sink.” This approach has a lot of merit. I found that by the time I got to book three the terminology became much less of an obstacle.

Another option is to consult a companion book like Dean King’s A Sea of Words, or an app like Nautical Terms, looking up words as you come across them.

One book I highly recommend for providing historical context and insight into life at sea is Patrick O’Brian’s own Men-of-War: Life in Nelson’s Navy. Though this pocket-sized book is less than 100 pages long, it gives readers a surprisingly thorough look at life in the Royal Navy. If you decide to read it, be sure to look for a used copy, as new copies can be quite expensive for such a tiny book.

Final Thoughts

I hope this information proves helpful to you. Feel free to leave comments with questions or suggestions. I’ll be posting quotes from the current chapter on Twitter and Facebook each Sunday starting with chapter 1 on January 3, 2021. The hashtag for the 4-year read-along is #AubreyMaturinReadalong. I encourage you to share your own thoughts, questions, and favorite quotes using that hashtag. I will also try to periodically post progress updates here at One Catholic Life so that you can post here if that’s easier.

Welcome, shipmates, to the grand literary adventure!