# Aubrey/Maturin Series Appreciation Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2006, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604 "2006-12-18T07:46:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/41 "2007-01-02T18:34:46Z")
I watched the movie again this weekend (partly because of this thread), and was struck again how respectfully the screenwriters held the original novels. There were plenty of changes, sure, but Peter Weir and John Collee seemed to strive to capture the essence of the Aubrey and Maturin. There were dozens of little touches that were faithful to the books, including: [ul] [li]Aubrey and Maturin’s duets.[/li][li]Aubrey’s mangling of aphorisms: “Don’t count your eggs before the pudding’s made” (or whatever the exact line was).[/li][li]Aubrey’s delight in himself when he made up any joke: The lesser of two weevils.[/li][li]Maturin’s loathing of the autocracy of shipboard life.[/li][/ul] I think I like the movie just a little bit better every time I see it. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/42 "2007-01-02T20:16:17Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Rutger Hauer and Dustin Hoffman. [/QUOTE] Robbie Coltrane and Steve Buscemi. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/43 "2007-01-02T21:38:57Z")
[QUOTE=PoorYorick] I watched the movie again this weekend (partly because of this thread), and was struck again how respectfully the screenwriters held the original novels. There were plenty of changes, sure, but Peter Weir and John Collee seemed to strive to capture the essence of the Aubrey and Maturin. There were dozens of little touches that were faithful to the books, including: [ul] [li]Aubrey and Maturin’s duets.[/li][li]Aubrey’s mangling of aphorisms: “Don’t count your eggs before the pudding’s made” (or whatever the exact line was).[/li][li]Aubrey’s delight in himself when he made up any joke: The lesser of two weevils.[/li][li]Maturin’s loathing of the autocracy of shipboard life.[/li][/ul] I think I like the movie just a little bit better every time I see it. [/QUOTE] I think the exact line was “Don’t count your eggs before they’re in the pudding” (but you were close enough). Relevant to nothing: My bilingual nieces informed me that the weevils joke does not work in Spanish. I had them watch that scene on the DVD, and they said the translation was “…the lesser of the bugs.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/44 "2007-01-02T22:20:41Z")
[QUOTE=vivalostwages] Relevant to nothing: My bilingual nieces informed me that the weevils joke does not work in Spanish. [/QUOTE] The Dons never had a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/45 "2007-01-02T23:03:56Z")
[QUOTE=ExTank] Robbie Coltrane and Steve Buscemi. [/QUOTE] Jim Broadbent and Rowan Atkinson ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/46 "2007-01-03T00:12:26Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Mapp] I took to Mr. Herapath and hope he’ll show up again later on in the series. [/QUOTE] He will. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/47 "2007-01-03T00:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=PoorYorick] I watched the movie again this weekend (partly because of this thread), and was struck again how respectfully the screenwriters held the original novels. There were plenty of changes, sure, but Peter Weir and John Collee seemed to strive to capture the essence of the Aubrey and Maturin. There were dozens of little touches that were faithful to the books, including: [ul] [li]Aubrey and Maturin’s duets.[/li][li]Aubrey’s mangling of aphorisms: “Don’t count your eggs before the pudding’s made” (or whatever the exact line was).[/li][li]Aubrey’s delight in himself when he made up any joke: The lesser of two weevils.[/li][li]Maturin’s loathing of the autocracy of shipboard life.[/li][/ul] I think I like the movie just a little bit better every time I see it. [/QUOTE] Have you seen the extras on the special edition DVD? There is a montage of scenes of “shipboard life”, and a scene where Stephen is trying to get the marine officer to stop shooting things: “If the men can’t eat it, and I can’t dissect it, please don’t shoot it.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/48 "2007-01-03T01:42:11Z")
How many Aubrey/Maturin fans also like [Richard Sharpe?](http://www.amazon.com/Sharpes-Eagle-2-Adventures/dp/0140294309/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_5/002-8293895-2524053) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/49 "2007-01-03T01:49:41Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] How many Aubrey/Maturin fans also like [Richard Sharpe?](http://www.amazon.com/Sharpes-Eagle-2-Adventures/dp/0140294309/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_5/002-8293895-2524053) [/QUOTE] I’m more of a [Flashman](http://www.harryflashman.org/) fan. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/50 "2007-01-03T02:10:19Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] How many Aubrey/Maturin fans also like [Richard Sharpe?](http://www.amazon.com/Sharpes-Eagle-2-Adventures/dp/0140294309/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_5/002-8293895-2524053) [/QUOTE] I love Sharpe, too. I have all the books and most of the DVDs. Mmm, Sean Bean. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/51 "2007-01-03T02:28:57Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] I’m more of a [Flashman](http://www.harryflashman.org/) fan. [/QUOTE] That goes without saying. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/52 "2007-01-03T02:55:36Z")
My brother, my father and I are all fans, which is good, as it gives me something I can talk to my father about without arguing. Some of my favorite scenes are the dinner parties, especially on board ship. And with having recently taken up the drinking of wine, I was able to say to my brother at Christmas dinner “The bottle stands by you, sir!” I’ve been waiting for years to be able to do that. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/53 "2007-01-03T03:03:55Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] That goes without saying. [/QUOTE] **HEY!** I resemble that remark! ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/54 "2007-01-04T20:52:31Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] He will. [/QUOTE] I just got that far last night, and was happy to see him and Mrs. Wogan again so soon! I was also amused to run into oblique references to Fanny Burney and Audubon (both coyly left unnamed). Also, I enjoyed the Java’s battle with the Constitution, although I was not in suspense about the outcome, since the USS Constitution and the HMS Victory are the two ships from this era I have actually seen and know something about: [USS Constitution - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution) (who knew Jack was there?) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/55 "2007-01-05T03:57:00Z")
[QUOTE=Miss Mapp] #5 Desolation Island–Not much battle during the voyage to Botany Bay, but lots of incident with the gaol fever (smallpox?) [/QUOTE] That would be [typhus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol_fever). Just about as nasty as smallpox ever was. I’d heard how good the series was and literally slogged through the first book. I found O’Brian’s prose a bit purple for my taste and when I was done, didn’t start the second. But scenes kept coming up in my mind so, with some trepidation, I read the second book and . . . it wasn’t so florid. Encouraged I did the third and after that I was hooked – I ripped through the remaining seventeen in about three months, forsaking even my periodicals to do so. I still haven’t decided whether he toned his writing down a bit or I just got used to it. ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/56 "2007-01-05T04:17:27Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] That would be [typhus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol_fever). Just about as nasty as smallpox ever was. I’d heard how good the series was and literally slogged through the first book. I found O’Brian’s prose a bit purple for my taste and when I was done, didn’t start the second. But scenes kept coming up in my mind so, with some trepidation, I read the second book and . . . it wasn’t so florid. Encouraged I did the third and after that I was hooked – I ripped through the remaining seventeen in about three months, forsaking even my periodicals to do so. I still haven’t decided whether he toned his writing down a bit or I just got used to it. [/QUOTE] You just got used to it. Go back and read the first one again. You’ll love it. I’ve read them all three times and my brother must be on his seventh go around by now. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/57 "2007-01-05T14:18:07Z")
One of the fascinating things about reading these books is discovering new ways to use words. I can’t count how many times while reading this series where I ran into a familiar word but it was being used in a context that was unusual but made total and complete sense. The series is like a huge etymology lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/58 "2007-01-05T18:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] One of the fascinating things about reading these books is discovering new ways to use words. I can’t count how many times while reading this series where I ran into a familiar word but it was being used in a context that was unusual but made total and complete sense. The series is like a huge etymology lesson. [/QUOTE] From _Nutmeg_: “Another misery of human life,” remarked Stephen to the morning darkness, “is having a contubernal that snores like ten.” “I was not snoring,” said Jack. “I was wide awake. What is a contubernal?” “You are a contubernal.” “And you are another.” ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604/59 "2007-01-05T21:37:56Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] One of the fascinating things about reading these books is discovering new ways to use words. I can’t count how many times while reading this series where I ran into a familiar word but it was being used in a context that was unusual but made total and complete sense. The series is like a huge etymology lesson. [/QUOTE] I was amused to note that in the novels, “intercourse” means talking, while “conversation” often means sex (“criminal conversation,” I gather, is adultery, but Stephen has used “conversation” alone to refer to sexual contact). At some point, the euphemisms got switched around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aubrey-maturin-series-appreciation-thread/384604.md?page=2)