Order of Patrick O’Brian Books

Patrick O’Brian is the nom de plume of English novelist Richard Patrick Russ (1914-2000). O’Brian is best known for his Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin series that spanned 21 novels and was adapted into the motion picture Master and Commander. Besides the Aubrey/Maturin books, he also wrote a few standalone novels and short story collections.

O’Brian began his literary career with Caesar in 1930 (when he was merely 16). The book led him to be labelled by critics as the boy-Thoreau, as a reference to American author Henry David Thoreau. Below is a list of Patrick O’Brian’s novels in order of when they were originally published:

Publication Order of Aubrey/Maturin Books

Master and Commander	(1969)
Post Captain	(1972)
H.M.S. Surprise	(1973)
The Mauritius Command	(1977)
Desolation Island	(1977)
The Fortune of War	(1978)
The Surgeon's Mate	(1980)
The Ionian Mission	(1981)
Treason's Harbour	(1983)
The Far Side of the World	(1984)
The Reverse of the Medal	(1986)
The Letter of Marque	(1988)
The Thirteen-Gun Salute	(1989)
The Nutmeg of Consolation	(1991)
The Truelove / Clarissa Oakes	(1992)
The Wine-Dark Sea	(1993)
The Commodore	(1994)
The Yellow Admiral	(1996)
The Hundred Days	(1998)
Blue at the Mizzen	(1999)
21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey	(2004)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Caesar	(1930)
Hussein	(1938)
Testimonies	(1952)
The Catalans	(1953)
The Road to Samarcand	(1954)
The Golden Ocean	(1956)
The Unknown Shore	(1959)
Richard Temple	(1962)

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

The Chian Wine	(1974)
The Rendezvous and Other Stories	(1994)
Collected Short Stories	(1995)
No Pirates Nowadays and Other Stories: Three Nautical Tales	(2014)
Beasts Royal: Twelve Tales of Adventure	(2015)
The Uncertain Land and Other Poems	(2019)

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Men-of-War	(1974)
Picasso	(1976)
Joseph Banks	(1987)

Publication Order of Anthologies

Rough Water: Stories of Survival from the Sea	(1998)
High Seas: Stories of Battle and Adventure from the Age of Sail	(2002)
Great Modern Stories	(2009)
Short Stories: The Thoroughly Modern Collection	(2009)

Notes: Clarissa Oakes was published as The Truelove in the USA. The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey was published as 21 in the United States. Testimonies was published as Three Bear Witness in the UK. The Catalans was published as The Frozen Flame in the United Kingdom.

If You Like Patrick O’Brian Books, You’ll Love…

• George R.R. Martin
• Stieg Larsson
• Lee Child

2 Responses to “Order of Patrick O’Brian Books”

1. tk77mann: 8 years ago

   Where is the list of his books in story order, not publication date order? Your website said it was available when I searched it. Thanks.

   Reply

   • Brandon: 8 years ago

     In most cases, this is the same order. When it is different, we will make note of it.

     Please see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey%E2%80%93Maturin_series#Internal_Chronology

     Reply