From the moment that, the first of patrick o'Brian's sequence of 20 novels about the 19th century British royal navy officer jack aubrey and his surgeon colleague stephen maturin, was published in 1970, critics hailed hi...From the moment that, the first of patrick o'Brian's sequence of 20 novels about the 19th century British royal navy officer jack aubrey and his surgeon colleague stephen maturin, was published in 1970, critics hailed his work as a masterpiece of historical fiction recreation.