People have tried to track it based on the refrences that Jack throws out in the books. Turns out O’Brian contradicts himself quite a bit. Its worth remembering that he didn’t intend to write a series when he wrote M&C so he had to change quite a few things in order to keep the series going (like make the War of 1812 last for about 10 years). Having said that, I think especially toward the second half of the series that O’Brian just liked writing the stories so much that he essentially changed things to fit his needs.
Stephen becomes rich than poor again about 4 times, Jack gets passed over for a good ship an absurd amount of times given his accomplishments, the age of all the characters fluctuates, and for a supposedly exceptional seaman Jack has at least 5 near wrecks or wrecks (Lucky Jack my ass), etc.
The above isn’t a criticism per se, and I loved every minute of it. O’Brian just didn’t let a little bit of internal consistency get in the way of the story he wanted to tell. He was sort of the anti-Tolkien, if you will.
Re your spoiler: Unlike Hornblower, who became more Godlike with every story or novel.
Jack had guys working against him, like Harte whom he couckled, however you spell it, did he not?
I believe a fair amount of time, something on the order of 5 years passes between the events of M&C and Post Captain. If I remember correctly, M&C happens around 1797 and Post Captain begins with the Peace of Amiens in 1802. So presumably thats when Stephen really gets into it. We know he is pretty full fledged by the 3rd book due to the opening plot arc, which I won’t mention for those who haven’t gotten there yet.
Also, keep in mind that Stephen had pretty much been developing skills helpful in spying long before he met Jack. He spent his childhood immersed in 2 different cultures, spent his university days in a 3rd, and got mixed up Irish independence movement after that. I would think that background would tend to make one good at fitting in, yet retaining a fair amount of objective observation. Combine that with the discipline and detachment he picked up as a surgeon and you have the perfect recipe for a spy.
I’ve read some of the books but I really think the best way is to listen to one of the unabridged recordings. A lot of the books have two different recordings, one by Simon Vance and the other by Patrick Tull, and they’re both really good. The only problem I have is that sometimes it seems like the series stalls out for entire books.
Don’t forget his father continually sabotaging him in Parliament - that lasted till book 12 or so. And he would often take a smaller ship to assist Stephen in his work, since Jack’s the only Captain Stephen would really trust to work with.
You’re dead on about Stephen’s spying activities though - staying alive during and after the Irish independence movement must have taught him a lot of useful intelligence skills.