The Mauritius Command cover art

The Mauritius Command

Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 4

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Mauritius Command

By: Patrick O'Brian
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

In The Mauritius Command, Captain Jack Aubrey is ashore on half-pay without a command until his friend, occasional intelligence agent Stephen Maturin, arrives with secret orders for Aubrey to take a frigate to the Cape of Good Hope under a Commodore's pennant. But the difficulties of carrying out his orders are compounded by two of his own captains: one a pleasure-seeking dilettante, the other liable to provoke the crew to mutiny.

Based on an actual campaign of 1810 in the Indian Ocean, O'Brien's attention to the detail of early 19th-century life ashore and at sea is meticulous. This tale is as beautifully written and as gripping as any in the series; it also stands on its own as a superlative work of fiction.

©1977 Patrick O'Brian (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Action & Adventure Espionage Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction
All stars
Most relevant  
O’Brian’s style is true to form, though I tend to agree with earlier reviews that the book lacks the tension and climaxes that I came to expect, and really only works as a steppingstone to his further novels; it could not stand alone. I also lost a little respect for Aubrey. His attitude toward his family and daughters (though an unfortunate product of the times I know) was disappointing, so I really appreciated Maturin’s more progressive reminders. Jerrom played a fantastic McAdam, and he and Maturin’s discourses were good fun. I’m looking forward to what the next tale has in store for our old favourites!

Enjoyable (if not memorable) listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
loved this novel, very entertaining, and sometimes a bit slow, and the battle scenes, make you think, thatvyour on the deck, , fighting with Lucky Jack.
I highly recommend this book.

lucky Jack.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listening to this audiobook is my second "reading" of The Mauritius Command. Although I have not mastered all the nautical terms and sailing strategies I enjoyed it immensely. The narration is first-class.

O'Brian is excellent as always

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The ripping story moves along apace, The narrator gets all the accents perfectly. Sailing terminology is just so good. I was transported back to the 1700 s and spent some time adventuring in Nelson’s navy. The characters were complex and rich. My only issue was that sometimes with so many ships engaged I wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

Spend a while in Nelson’s Navy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
... still loving the Aubrey and Maturin capers !... so onwards to desolation Island.....predigious fun!

addicted to life at sea

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Jack and Stephen take ship for Mauritius to subvert the French politically and blow them out of the water and run them off the island militarily. One of the better of the series for me in terms of being able to follow what is going on and not getting bogged down with excess.

Continuing High Seas Action

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator really makes these books come alive, with accents and inflection making it clear who's speaking and the what's happening. I love this series and enjoyed the battles and action portrayed in this book.

Another cracking Aubrey-Matutin adventure

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The wordsmith himself has the ability to take his reader back into the nineteenth century.

The writer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.