Diana Villiers (ca. 1780 -1815) 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.
The first appearance of the young widowed cousin of Sophie Williams, is on the fox hunting field in the novel Post Captain. Diana is introduced as the daughter of a General and the wife of an East India Compa...
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Diana Villiers (ca. 1780 -1815) 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.
The first appearance of the young widowed cousin of Sophie Williams, is on the fox hunting field in the novel Post Captain. Diana is introduced as the daughter of a General and the wife of an East India Company official, both of whom were killed in the same battle with the forces of "Tippoo Sahib", leaving her penniless.
She and Sophie are introduced to eligible neighbours Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin when the latter are ashore on half pay during the Peace of Amiens in the winter of 1802-1803, with Jack still imprudent enough to live beyond his means so that an absconding prize agent and some reverses at the prize court leave him deeply in debt.
Both Aubrey and Maturin are attracted to the fiery Diana. Maturin falls deeply in...
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