1st American ed.

"Having survived a long and desperate adventure in the Great South Sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin return to England to very different circumstances. For Jack it is a happy homecoming, at least initially, but for Stephen it is disastrous: his little daughter appears to be autistic, incapable of speech or contact, while his wife, Diana, unable to bear this situation, has disappeared, her house being looked after by the widowed Clarissa...

The story of a British naval captain, his ship, and his crew as they sail in pursuit of a French ship during the Napoleonic wars.

In this sixth volume of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, Captain Aubrey and Maturin take passage for England to assume command.

Captain Aubrey has orders to intercept an American frigate in the south seas, a paradise for the battle weary Captain and ship's surgeon Maturin, until the two end up overboard.

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 at the time of his death are presented here both in printed version-including...