The final, unfinished voyage of Aubrey & Maturin
***
Coming in a just 65 pages, this book is an early draft of an unfinished novel. It would have been a wonderful read, I assume, as the story was shaping up nicely. As a new rear-admiral, Aubrey takes command of the Suffolk, a ship of the line, and a smallish squadron. The women-folk and kids are invited aboard for a maiden voyage. The Surprise is returned to the docks in England, and the Ringle is to be used as Aubrey's tender.
The admiral Lord Leyton wanted Maturin to help translate French for him; as he was going to stop by and visit an exiled Napoleon. I can only assume what was going through Maturin's head at the prospect of actually meeting his great enemy of all these years.
But that, like so much else, was not to be. What a wonderful series of books this has been; a delightful and educational journey through the British navy of the Napoleonaic era. I will miss it indeed.
