# Master and Commander **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217 "2009-12-06T19:24:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/61 "2010-01-03T05:56:15Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I understood maybe every third word in the book, but I sure enjoyed it. I am reading _HMS Surprise,_ and again I envy you reading the series for the first time. Remember I mentioned Diana, Dil and Sally. Would anyone be interested in a discussion group? I would be happy to read the novels again. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/62 "2010-01-03T21:21:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Would anyone be interested in a discussion group? I would be happy to read the novels again. šŸ™‚ Sounds good to me! I just ordered the second and third books. ---
**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, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/63 "2010-01-03T21:54:32Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Would anyone be interested in a discussion group? I would be happy to read the novels again. šŸ™‚ I should like it of all things. My very patient husband has listened to me rave about these books and has suffered through having many amusing bits read aloud to him, so heā€™d probably be glad if I had somewhere else to vent my enthusiasm. ---
**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, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/64 "2010-01-03T22:31:37Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > I should like it of all things. How shall we set this up, a thread on each novel? I would recommend [A Sea of Words.](http://books.google.com/books?id=JKY8yZFChX4C&dq=a+sea+of+words&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=SRpBS--KH8OUtgerwu3_CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false) It doesnā€™t cover the whole series. I obtained mine on Ebay. ---
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/65 "2010-01-03T22:41:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The A&E Hornblower series was better, at least because there was a LOT more. I am about to embark on a Hornblower adventure. Should I read them in the order they were written or chronological order? I bought Mr Midshipman Hornblower already. Should I start with that? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/66 "2010-01-03T22:49:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How shall we set this up, a thread on each novel? I would recommend [A Sea of Words.](http://books.google.com/books?id=JKY8yZFChX4C&dq=a+sea+of+words&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=SRpBS--KH8OUtgerwu3_CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false) It doesnā€™t cover the whole series. I obtained mine on Ebay. Oh cool. Iā€™m getting one. (I always hear that in Pippinā€™s voice.) I have no opinion on setup. Whatever you guys decide is fine with me. ---
**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, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/67 "2010-01-03T22:55:15Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > I am about to embark on a Hornblower adventure. Should I read them in the order they were written or chronological order? > > I bought Mr Midshipman Hornblower already. Should I start with that? There is an event in the later novels that I must not spoil; I canā€™t remember which ones, so Iā€™d recommend reading them in chronological order rather than the order in which they were written. ---
**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, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/68 "2010-01-03T23:00:12Z")
[Harbors and High Seas](http://books.google.com/books?id=NYMi-f_4W1IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=harbors+and+high+seas&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)is great, too, if you want to keep up with where in the world theyā€™re going. One thread per novel sounds good to me. ---
**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 4, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/69 "2010-01-04T00:36:12Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > [Harbors and High Seas](http://books.google.com/books?id=NYMi-f_4W1IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=harbors+and+high+seas&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false)is great, too, if you want to keep up with where in the world theyā€™re going. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/70 "2010-01-04T00:36:21Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I think this was when they thought that were carrying a ā€œJonahā€. They werenā€™t scared of the whales as whales, IMHO, but they were on a string of terrible bad luck and were letting their superstitions get the better of them. In the book it isnā€™t a whale. It is an unknown and (for the most part) unseen creature that makes a sound that none of them have heard before: A loud, desolate and oddly human sound. There has been a murder on board and discipline is breaking down (a subplot not in the film script). The creature is seen as a harbinger of evil. Oā€™Brian never describes it and the only speculation is Maturins ā€œsome kind of manatee, perhapsā€. The whole sequence is one of OBrianā€™s most suspenseful passages and the filmed version didnā€™t work at all - it was rightly removed from the finished production. ---
**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 4, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/71 "2010-01-04T01:04:08Z")
> [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](#): > > In the book it isnā€™t a whale. It is an unknown and (for the most part) unseen creature that makes a sound that none of them have heard before: A loud, desolate and oddly human sound. Is the same creature, or novel for that matter, where the Marine officer killed the child of the creature? ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/72 "2010-01-04T01:06:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Is the same creature, or novel for that matter, where the Marine officer killed the child of the creature? Thatā€™s right, in both cases. Should I have spoilered my last post? Iā€™m sorry if I should. ---
**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 4, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/73 "2010-01-04T01:11:25Z")
> [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](#): > > Thatā€™s right, in both cases. > > Should I have spoilered my last post? Iā€™m sorry if I should. I dunno, I got called on it in another thread, and weā€™re going to start threads on reading and discussing the novels, so Iā€™m being careful. šŸ™‚ That said, who wants to start a read & discuss thread for M&C? ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/74 "2010-01-04T05:47:51Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Yeah, after burning through the pages, the final fate of the \*Waakzaamheid \* was like hitting a brick wall. Word. That whole sequence in Desolation Island was just amazingly memorable. I saw the movie in the theatre. There were a couple of women sitting near us. When it was over, I spoke to them. Turns out one of the women was an expert in British Naval history. She said they got so much right that she was very pleased. I need to reread the books. I just wish there were ebooks versions of them, since thatā€™s mostly what I read these days. Iā€™m burning through Bernard Cornwellā€™s Sharpe books now. I really like them, though I kinda donā€™t think Iā€™m the target audience for them. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/75 "2010-01-04T15:32:31Z")
This might be of interest to Oā€™Brian fans; he was a big fan of Jane Austen (and purposefully gave Jack Aubrey her initials, Iā€™ve read): ["Jane Austen and the Navy" - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542103) ---
**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 6, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/76 "2010-01-06T02:07:40Z")
> [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](#): > > One thread per novel sounds good to me. Go forth, and [post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11959235#post11959235) ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/77 "2010-01-06T12:36:21Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > This might be of interest to Oā€™Brian fans; he was a big fan of Jane Austen (and purposefully gave Jack Aubrey her initials, Iā€™ve read): ["Jane Austen and the Navy" - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542103) Thatā€™s interesting, because one of the review excerpts on my copy of _The Yellow Admiral_ says ā€œJane Austen _sur mer_.ā€ I have found it an apt description. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/78 "2010-01-07T20:59:30Z")
In response to the ā€œwhale songā€ episode in _The Far Side of the World_: I took Stephenā€™s suggestion that the noise was made by the mourning mother creature as a blatant falsehood on his part. He had been greatly annoyed by the marine captainā€™s wanton slaughter of anything that flew or swam nearby, and by practising upon the superstitions of the crew, effectively guaranteed a moratorium on further sport hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/79 "2021-03-16T04:08:44Z")
Bumped. Just came across this interesting article about the movie: [https://www.thewrap.com/master-commander-15th-anniversary/](https://www.thewrap.com/master-commander-15th-anniversary/) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217/80 "2021-03-16T12:59:54Z")
Nice article. Interesting how M&C and Troy were the last of the big budget historical epics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/520217.md?page=3)