Life
1914-2000 [Richard Patrick Russ]; purportedly born in Ireland of Anglo-Irish parents, who died early; a
the time of his death, however, it materialised that he was grandson of
a Leipzig furrier, and grew up in Hampstead; educated Paignton; widely
travelled; fluent in French, Spanish, and Catalan; served in British Wartime
Intelligence [Political Intelligence Dept.] and later under Sir Dick White,
Head of M15; m. Mary, mother of Count Nikolai Tolstoy; settled in Franco-Spanish
village, nr. Picasso, on whom he wrote a highly-regarded biography; also
a biography of Sir Joseph Banks, biologist; early fiction incl. Road
to Samarkand (1954), and Testimonies, the latter set in Wales;
commenced navel series with The Golden Ocean (1956), written in
‘little more than a month ... laughing all the time’’;
embarked on series of 20 Aubrey-Maturin novels, 1969-1999, being a historical series set in Napoleonic days
starting with Master and Commander (1969), centred on Maturin,
a medical man, half-Spanish half-Irish, who is currently a British agent, and followed by Post Captain, HMS Surprise, Desolation Island,
Mauritius Command, &c.; the 18th of the series being The Yellow Admiral
(HarperCollins 1996), 261pp.; first winner of Heywood Hill Literary
Prize, 1995; Birthday Honours CBE [?]1996; the myth of his Irish origins was exposed in 1998; d. in Dublin; bur. Collioure, France, on Roussillon coast, nr. Spain.
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Works
Master and Commander (London: Collins 1970; Fontana pb. 1971; HarperCollins
1994, 1996), 412pp.; The Green Ocean (London: HarperCollins 1996),
304pp.; The Golden Ocean [1956] (London: HarperCollins 1997), 285pp.;
The Unknown Shore [1959] (London: HarperCollins 1997), 265pp.;
The Yellow Admiral (London: HarperCollins 1997), 265pp.; The
Golden Ocean (London: HarperCollins 1998), 288pp.; The Hundred
Days (London: HarperCollins 1998), 281pp. Also, trans., Jacques Soustelle,
The Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest
(NY 1962).
Audio-books: Master and Commander and Post Captain are available in audio-books from HarperCollins.
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Criticism
Dean King, Patrick O’Brian: A Life Revealed (Holt), 387pp.
Kevin Myers, [on O’Brian], in ‘Irishman’s Diary’, in The Irish Times (16 Oct. 1996), [q.p.]; and Do. (12 July 1997).
Kevin Myers, review of Dean King, Patrick O’Brian: A Life Revealed (Holt), in The Irish Times (8 July, 2000),.
Brian Fallon, Irish Times ([?]25. Oct. 1997), [q.p.]
Frank J. Prial, Obituary, New York Times (7 Jan. 2000).
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Notes
The O’Brian Page (Norton Press, WWW online), holds The Aubrey Maturin
Series Complete Set, 17 vols. (1995); Desolation Island (1994; 1991);
The Commodore (1995; pb. 1996); The Far Side of the World (1994; 1992);
The Fortune of War (1994; 1991); H. M. S. Surprise (1994; 1991); The Golden
Ocean: A Novel (1994; 1996); The Ionian Mission (1994; 1992); The Letter
of Marque (1990; 1992); Master and Commander (1994; 1990); The Mauritius
Command (1994; 1991); Men-Of-War: Life in Nelson’s Navy (1995); The
Nutmeg of Consolation (1991; 1993); The Pat O’Brian Calendar 1996,
Do., with Illustrations by Geoffrey Hunt (1995); Picasso: A Biography
(1994); Post Captain (1994; 1990); The Rendezvous and Other Stories (1994;
1995);The Reverse of the Medal (1992; 1994); The Surgeon’s Mate (1994;
1992); Testimonies: A Novel (1993; 1995); The Thirteen Gun Salute (1991;
1992); Treason’s Harbour (1994; 1992); The Truelove (1992; 1993);
The Unknown Shore: A Novel (1995; 1996); The Wine-Dark Sea (1993; 1994);
The Yellow Admiral (1996).
Belfast Public Library holds Road to Samarkand (1954), and two other titles.
Maturin: Dot Wordsworth, ‘Mind Your Language (Spectator,
18 Jan. 1997), notes origins of Maturin name of the principal Stephen
Maturin, who is supposed to be half-Catalan; St. Maturinus ordained by
Polycarp, d. c.388; further traces the Maturin character to C. R. Maturin
of Melmoth the Wanderer fame, and ‘Melmoth’ to a character
in John Amory’s The Life of John Buncle (1765-66); likewise
traces Jack Aubrey to John Aubrey of Brief Lives fame, though in
name only.
Portrait: There is a full-length portrait by Steve Pyke (1996) in the National Portrait Gallery, though not on display [NPG link].
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Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco)