Does anyone know of an operator of such tours, based on the novels & characters of Patrick O'Brian?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32817 posts
Sorry, who is "Patrick O'Brian"? No I haven't? What part of the world is he set in? And who is "Aubrey-Maturin"? Clearly my education is lacking... if you can identify a section of the coastline I can have a look on the Interweb for you...
Posted by
Bromley, Kent,, UK
1829 posts
Don't know of any specific tours but being about the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic era, Portsmouth would be an obvious place to visit. http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/ http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/
Posted by
Kingsville, Ontario
165 posts
Dave, I love those books and it seems I re-read the series every few years. That would be a great tour to put together, Portsmouth , the Solent , Chatham dock yards and the rope walk. Add in Bolitho's Falmouth and you got a trip on.
Nigel, O'Brian's books are Napolinic war fiction with a big splash of natural history and espionage . Hornblower meets Darwin meets 007.
Posted by
Washington, DC, USA
571 posts
Dave, As a huge fan of the PO'B novels (and a former bookseller, too) I can tell you that the initial enthusiasm for the Aubrey-Maturin novels died down somewhat and I'd be surprised if there was a themed tour today based around them, even if once there was. The books seemed to "hit" much more here in America than they did in Europe. Whenever I'd ask about O'Brian in the UK, someone would direct me to Alexander Kent's Bolitho novels instead. You could certainly put together a "tour" of your own. During my first trip to England I made sure to hit both Portsmouth (esp. HMS Victory) and the maritime museum at Greenwich. You may already be familiar with Dean King's book Harbors and High Seas that maps out the various voyages of Aubrey & company. On the Web, check out the POB compendium at <patrickobrian.com>, especially the "Chart Room" for many detailed maps (both UK and around the world). On my next trip I intend to visit the Captain Cook museum at Whitby. The real life of James Cook has enough nautical and natural history to please any POB fan and the museum looks very interesting. If you find something more specific to the O'Brian novels during your researches, be sure to respond here and let the rest of us fans know what you've found. I give you joy, sir, and confusion to Bonaparte!