Fortune Of War
   HOME





Fortune Of War
''The Fortune of War'' is the sixth historical novel in the Aubrey–Maturin series by British author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1979. It is set during the War of 1812 and much of the story takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. HMS ''Leopard'' has made its way to Botany Bay, left its prisoners, and sailed to Pulo Batang, where the ship is declared unfit for war. Captain Aubrey and some of his followers are put aboard the packet ship ''La Flèche'' to sail home for a new commission, but a shipboard fire ends the months of sweet sailing and brings them into the new war. ''The Fortune of War'' contains lightly fictionalized accounts of two actual sea battles in the War of 1812. Plot summary HMS ''Leopard'', her rudder now remounted, sails from Kerguelen Islands, Desolation Island to Port Jackson, New South Wales, where she drops off her few prisoners. William Bligh, Captain Bligh has already been handled, so she proceeds to the Dutch East Indies station and Admiral Will ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centre on the friendship of the English naval captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. The 20-novel series, the first of which is '' Master and Commander'', is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early 19th-century life, as well as its authentic and evocative language. A partially finished 21st novel in the series was published posthumously containing facing pages of handwriting and typescript. O'Brian wrote a number of other novels and short stories, most of which were published before he achieved success with the Aubrey–Maturin series. He also translated works from French to English, and wrote biographies of Joseph Banks and Picasso. His major success as a writer came late in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

New Holland (Australia)
''New Holland'' () is a historical European name for mainland Australia, Janszoon voyage of 1605–1606, first encountered by Europeans in 1606, by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon aboard . The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch people, Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman, and for a time came to be applied in most European maps to the vaunted "Southern land" or ''Terra Australis'' even after its coastline was finally explored. The continent of Antarctica, later named in the 1890s, was still in largely speculative form; it resumed the name (sometimes suffixed , ). Its existence had been speculated on in some maps since the 5th century, under the theory of "balancing hemispheres". Lieutenant James Cook, during his First voyage of James Cook, first voyage of discovery, claimed the eastern portion of the Australian continent for the British Crown in 1770, naming it New South Wales. The British settlement of Sydney as a colony in 1788 prompted Britain to formally cl ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Henry Ducie Chads
Admiral Sir Henry Ducie Chads, (24 February 1788 – 7 April 1868) was an officer in the Royal Navy who saw action from the Napoleonic Wars to the Crimean War. Family background Chads was born in Marylebone, London, the eldest son of Captain Henry Chads, R.N. (died on 20 October 1799) and his wife, Susannah. He was baptised at three weeks old at St Marylebone Parish Church. He was the brother of Lieutenant-colonel John Cowell Chads, who died, President of the British Virgin Islands at Tortola on 28 February 1854, aged 60. Career Chads entered the Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth as a 12-year-old on 25 October 1800, and in 1803 embarked aboard the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Excellent'', sharing in the defence of Gaeta and the capture of Capri. In July 1808, he joined the 36-gun frigate and during the Mauritius campaign distinguished himself at the occupation of the Île de la Passe, gateway to the Isle de France (now Mauritius). On the defeat of the British squad ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

George Byron, 7th Baron Byron
Admiral George Anson Byron, 7th Baron Byron (8 March 1789 – 2 March 1868) was a British nobleman, naval officer, peer, politician, and the seventh Baron Byron, in 1824 succeeding his cousin the poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron in that peerage. As a career naval officer, he was notable for being his predecessor's opposite in temperament and lifestyle. Parentage and ménage He was the only son of Honorable George Anson Byron and Charlotte Henrietta Dallas, and grandson of the admiral and explorer The Hon. John Byron, who circumnavigated the world with George Anson in 1740–44. He married Elizabeth Mary Chandos Pole on 18 March 1816. She was the daughter of Sacheverell Pole Esq., of Radbourne Hall, b. 16 June 1769. During this man's lifetime, he became of representative of Sir John Chandos, K.G., and by sign manual, or deed poll assumed the additional surname of Chandos. Elizabeth was descended from a well-documented long line of the Pole family, including ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Diana Villiers
Diana Villiers is a fictional character in the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. Described as beautiful, mercurial, and entirely unreliable, she is the great love and great sorrow of Stephen Maturin's life. Character history Diana enters the series in the second novel of the series, ''Post Captain'', which begins with Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin living ashore during the Peace of Amiens. They first see her in a fox hunting field near their leased country house, and are impressed by her beauty and bold spirit. In ''Post Captain'', Diana is living with the Williams family, as a poor relation. Previously a resident of India, where her father was a general and her husband was an official of the East India Company, she returned to England after both men were killed in the same battle with the forces of Tippoo Sahib. Both Aubrey and Maturin are intrigued by the fiery Villiers, although Aubrey also forms a conflicted attachment to her more pla ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Stephen Maturin
Stephen Maturin () is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his career as a physician, naturalist and spy in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and the long pursuit of his beloved Diana Villiers. Maturin was played by Paul Bettany in the 2003 film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' and by Nigel Anthony and Richard Dillane in the BBC Radio 4 adaptations of O'Brian's novels. Bettany was nominated for a British Academy Film Award for his performance. Biography Early life Stephen Maturin, called by his Catalan family Esteban Maturin y Domanova, a Roman Catholic, is the illegitimate son of an Irish officer serving in the Spanish Army and a Catalonian lady. He is cousin to the historical Lord Edward FitzGerald. As a boy he lived in Ireland, fostered by a family of pig-herders in Cahersiveen and County Clare, and spent his teenage years in Catalonia – most notably with his grandmo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series of novels portrays his rise from lieutenant to rear admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and one incomplete draft)-book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along his course to flying a rear admiral's flag. Some of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from Royal Navy history. Several of his exploits and reverses, most importantly those in the plots of '' Master and Commander'', ''The Reverse of the Medal'' and '' Blue at the Mizzen'', are directly based on the chequered career of Thomas Cochrane. Often in the other 17 novels in the series, Besides reaching the peak of naval skills and authority, Aubrey is presented as being interested in mathematics and astronomy, a great lover of music and player of the violin, a hearty singer and is generally accompanied by his friend and shipmate Stephen Maturin o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

James Lawrence
James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, "Don't give up the ship!", uttered during the capture of the ''Chesapeake''. The quotation is still a popular naval battle cry, and was invoked in Oliver Hazard Perry's personal battle flag, adopted to commemorate his dead friend. Biography Lawrence was born on October 1, 1781, the son of John and Martha (Tallman) Lawrence, in Burlington, New Jersey, but raised in Woodbury. His mother died when he was an infant, and his Loyalist father fled to Canada during the American Revolution, leaving his half-sister to care for the young Lawrence. He attended Woodbury Academy. Though Lawrence studied law, he entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1798. Lawrence hailed from a New England family of English descent, as his first ancestor t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Philip Broke
Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, 1st Baronet (; 9 September 1776 – 2 January 1841) was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. During his lifetime, he was often referred to as "Broke of the ''Shannon''", a reference to his notable command of . His most famous military achievement was defeating and capturing the American frigate, USS ''Chesapeake''. Early life Broke was born at Broke Hall, Nacton, near Ipswich, the eldest son of Philip Bowes Broke, grandson of Philip Broke and descendant of Sir Richard Broke, who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was educated at Ipswich School, where a house was later named in his honour. Naval career Broke joined the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1788, and began active service as a midshipman in 1792. It was rather unusual for him to receive formal naval education – most of his contemporaries had only "on the job" training. He served as third l ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were refugee colonists from Thirteen Colonies, thirteen of the 20 British American colonies who remained loyal to the British Crown, British crown during the American Revolution, often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots or Whigs, who supported the revolution and considered them "persons inimical to the liberties of America." Prominent Loyalists repeatedly assured the Government of the United Kingdom, British government that many thousands of them would spring to arms and fight for the Crown. The British government acted in expectation of that, especially during the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War, Southern campaigns of 1780 and 1781. Britain was able to effectively protect the people only in areas where they had military control, thus the number of military Loyalists was significantly lower than what had been expected. Loyalists were often under suspicion of t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Plan Of Boston, 1813
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. For spatial or planar topologic or topographic sets see map. Plans can be formal or informal: * Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in projects, diplomacy, careers, economic development, military campaigns, combat, sports, games, or in the conduct of other business. In most cases, the absence of a well-laid plan can have adverse effects: for example, a non-robust project plan can cost the organization time and money. * Informal or ad hoc plans are created by individuals in all of their pursuits. The most popular ways to describe plans are by their breadth, time frame, and specificity; however, these planning classifications are not independent of one another. For instance, there is a close rel ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Striking The Colors
Striking the colors—meaning lowering the flag (the " colors") that signifies a ship's or garrison's allegiance—is a universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. For a ship, surrender is dated from the time the ensign is struck. In international law "Colours. A national flag (or a battle ensign). The colours... are hauled down as a token of submission." International law absolutely requires a warship, ship of war to fly its ensign at the commencement of any hostile acts, i.e., before firing on the enemy. During battle there is no purpose in striking the colors other than to indicate surrender. It was and is an offense to continue to fight after striking one's colors, and an offense to continue to fire on an enemy after she has struck her colors, unless she indicates by some other action, such as continuing to fire or seeking to escape, that she has not truly surrendered. For this reason, striking the colors is conclusive evidence of a su ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]