Jack Aubrey

John "Jack" Aubrey is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and almost twenty-one) book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along his course to flying a rear admiral's flag. He starts as a lieutenant, depressed, poor and without a ship until he is given his first ... more

John "Jack" Aubrey is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and almost twenty-one) book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along his course to flying a rear admiral's flag. He starts as a lieutenant, depressed, poor and without a ship until he is given his first command: a fourteen-gun brig-rigged sloop, HMS Sophie. Most of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from actual Royal Navy history. Several of his exploits and reverses are directly based on the chequered career of Thomas Cochrane, most importantly the plots of Master and Commander, The Reverse of the Medal and Blue at the Mizzen. O'Brian is said to have pictured his friend, actor Charlton Heston, as Aubrey. Throughout the books, Aubrey presents himself as a great lover of music and player of the violin. He is generally accompanied by... less