The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 21 books · 1969 to 2004

Patrick O'Brian

Historical fictionNaval adventure

Patrick O'Brian's twenty Aubrey-Maturin novels follow Jack Aubrey, a bold Royal Navy captain, and his friend Stephen Maturin, a ship's surgeon, naturalist and intelligence agent, through the Napoleonic Wars. They are often called the finest historical novels ever written.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Clarissa Oakes was published in the US as The Truelove. The unfinished twenty-first novel appeared in 2004.

Vote for Patrick O'Brian as a favourite author, and for books and characters below. See the favourites

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
The chart needs JavaScript. The reading order and character list below work without it.

Patrick O'Brian books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Aubrey-Maturin

21 books · Set at seaNaval adventure
  1. 1Master and Commander1969With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Post Captain1972With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  3. 3HMS Surprise1973With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Mauritius Command1977With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Desolation Island1978With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  6. 6The Fortune of War1979With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Surgeon's Mate1980With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Ionian Mission1981With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Treason's Harbour1983With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The Far Side of the World1984With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Reverse of the Medal1986With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  12. 12The Letter of Marque1988With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  13. 13The Thirteen-Gun Salute1989With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  14. 14The Nutmeg of Consolation1991With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Clarissa Oakes1992With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  16. 16The Wine-Dark Sea1993With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  17. 17The Commodore1994With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  18. 18The Yellow Admiral1996With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  19. 19The Hundred Days1998With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  20. 20Blue at the Mizzen1999With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon
  21. 21The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey2004With Jack Aubrey and Stephen MaturinBuy on Amazon

Characters

7 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Aubrey and Maturin