Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > O'Brian, Patrick - Edward T. Wheeler (review date 8 November 1996)

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Edward T. Wheeler (review date 8 November 1996)

SOURCE: “Ahoy! Patrick O'Brian Sails Again,” in Commonweal, Vol. 123, No. 19, November 8, 1996, pp. 9–10.

[In the following positive review, Wheeler compares The Yellow Admiral and the entire Aubrey/Maturin series with Homer's epic tales of ancient Greek life.]

The enormous success of Patrick O'Brian's historical novels defies any simple explanation. Perhaps the current interest in film adaptations of Jane Austen's works offer some explanatory clue. Indeed, the two authors share a loving devotion to the Royal Navy at the time of the Napoleonic campaigns, but O'Brian sails with hindsight into waters which Miss Austen could only imagine, landlocked as she was ashore. Norton, O'Brian's publishers, certainly cannot be at sea when they regard the enormous sales figures; their best-selling author can even be found smiling quizzically from his own spot on their internet home page....

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. John Bayley (essay date 7 November 1991)
   2. Frank Stewart (review date 4 April 1993)
   3. Byron Rogers (review date 10 July 1993)
   4. Michael Dirda (review date August 1993)
   5. Patrick T. Reardon (review date 19 December 1993)
   6. Frederick Pratter (review date 31 December 1993)
   7. John Balzar (review date 2 January 1994)
   8. Thomas McGonigle (review date 2 January 1994)
   9. Elliott Abrams (review date 24 January 1994)
   10. James Hamilton-Paterson (review date 26 December 1994)
   11. Frederick Pratter (review date 2 May 1995)
   12. Katherine A. Powers (review date July 1995)
   13. Sam Pickering (review date Spring 1996)
   14. Thomas R. Edwards (essay date Summer 1996)
   15. John Balzar (review date 20 October 1996)
   16. Edward T. Wheeler (review date 8 November 1996)
   17. Christopher Clausen (review date 16 December 1996)
   18. James Teacher (review date 4 January 1997)
   19. John Mullan (review date 10 January 1997)
   20. Books Magazine (review date October 1997)
   21. Molly Finn (essay date 19 June 1998)
   22. Alan Judd (review date 22 August 1998)
   23. Barbara Everett (review date 4 September 1998)
   24. Martin Jacques (review date 6 September 1998)
   25. Christopher Hitchens (essay date 9 March 2000)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright