Coming soon: Master and Commander

The ads have been all over television for the upcoming movie Master and Commander starring Russell Crowe. In anticipation, I have started re-reading the Patrick O'Brian novel of the same name.

Master and Commander is the first volume of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series of historical novels set during the Napoleonic Wars. It's in the same tradition as Forester's Hornblower novels and Kent's Bolitho series of books covering naval warfare in the Napoleonic era, or Cornwell's Sharpe novels for that matter. (Why is it that the British do these series of historical fiction so much more and better than we do in America? Or is that my imagination?) O'Brian's books are in the same tradition - but they transcend the genre. They are far and away the best series of such historical fiction. They have fantastic historical detail. There are vivid characterizations. They are literate and well written, not mere melodrama like many such books. And there is plenty of swashing and buckling to keep propelling the stories forward.

I also just picked up a copy of The Making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World to learn a little more about the movie. I'm intrigued at the prospect of the movie but also more than a little concerned. I love the books and I'm wondering how well they will be translated to the screen. For starters, the titles of two of the books in the series are included in the full title of the movie: Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World. As noted, M&C is the first volume of the series and The Far Side of the World is the tenth. So is the movie based on one of the novels? Or is it a distillation of material from multiple books? Or...what? Hopefully The Making of... will answer all of my questions.

In addition, I wonder how the core of the book - the deep friendship between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin - will manage the transition to the screen. Will it be the foundation of the movie as it is in the books, or will we lose it to the greater visual appeal of naval warfare? One potential warning signal is that Russell Crowe is playing naval officer Jack Aubrey, which seems a great choice. But there is no one of such stature or star power playing Stephen Maturin. Does the movie become The Excellent Adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey or do we get something that more closely adapts the books? All questions to be answered in mid-November and despite my concerns I'm looking forward to the movie.

As to why the British do historical fiction series better - we'll come back to that question in a later post.