Patrick O'Brian

A prisoner of the German army in France, Richard Temple is nobody's idea of a hero. To stay sane while denying the charges and absorbing the beatings of his captors, he conducts a minute examination of his life. Temple escaped from a blighted childhood and his alcoholic mother thanks to an artistic gift. But his life as a painter in 1930s London was cruelly deprived. To eat, he became a forger. He was rescued by the love of a wealthy woman, and

"We've beat them before and we'll beat them again."

In 1803, Napoleon smashes the Peace of Amiens, going to war once again. This is doubly alarming news for Captain Jack Aubrey, who is taking refuge in France from his creditors. He is interned but soon escapes from his French debtor's prison, fleeing across the French countryside to lead a ship into battle. After managing to avert a possible mutiny, he pursues his quarry straight into the