John "Jack" Aubrey , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series of novels portrays his rise from lieutenant to rear admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and one incomplete draft)-book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along his course to flying a rear admiral's flag.
Some of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from Royal Navy history. are directly based on the chequered career of Thomas Cochrane. Often in the other 17 novels in the series,
Besides reaching the peak of naval skills and authority, Aubrey is presented as being interested in mathematics and astronomy, a great lover of music and player of the violin, a hearty singer and is generally accompanied by his friend and shipmate Stephen Maturin on the cello. He is noted for his mangling and mis-splicing of proverbs, sometimes with Maturin's involvement, such as "Never count the bear's skin before it is hatched" and "There's a good deal to be said for making hay while the iron is hot."
Aubrey is played by Russell Crowe in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and by Michael Troughton and David Robb in the BBC Radio 4 adaptations of the novels.
Education and early life
Aubrey's mother died when he was a boy; he was her only child. His father General Aubrey lives a longer life, and is a character in some of the novels, often working against the career interest of his son with clumsy politics. Eventually, when Jack is an adult, General Aubrey marries for a second time to a dairy maid, and fathers Philip Aubrey, who is a much younger half-brother to Jack. In Master and Commander, Aubrey describes the efforts of his slightly older neighbour "Queeney" to teach him some Latin and the mathematics associated with a sailing ship and its navigation so that he could pass his examination for lieutenant, an event that happened before the first novel. Queeney's family had occupied Damplow when Aubrey was a boy, a house adjoining General Aubrey's estate ("they were almost in our park").
Early career
Like many officers in the British fleet, Aubrey spent much of his life raised on the sea, joining the navy very early: he was on the books at the age of nine and at sea when he was twelve. While a midshipman aboard HMS Resolution commanded by a friend of General Aubrey's, Captain Douglas, Jack was turned before the mast for hiding a girl aboard the ship, and for stealing the captain's dinner of tripe. He spent six months as a common seaman before being re-rated as a midshipman. He earned a silver Nile Medal, having served as a lieutenant aboard HMS Leander during the Battle of the Nile in 1798, mentioned in Master and Commander. The Nile Medal is mentioned whenever Aubrey wears his dress uniform. The Battle of the Nile was a major turning point in the long wars between the United Kingdom and Napoleon's France, in which dominance on the sea went to the United Kingdom. Horatio Nelson became a hero for his role in that 1798 battle.
Career and characteristics depicted in the novels
Aubrey is between twenty and thirty years old when the first story opens, a lieutenant passing time on the island of Minorca, at a musical performance. When he returns to his inn, his letter of promotion to master and commander awaits him. He is given his first command: a fourteen-gun brig-rigged sloop, HMS Sophie. He rises to the rank of post captain, though he is once struck off the Navy List, reinstated, then suspends himself in 1814 as peace comes in spring. As was the practice in the Royal Navy, once on the list of post captains, he moved up the list for promotion to admiral by the end of the series of novels, set during the Napoleonic Wars.
In his early career, according to HMS Surprise, Aubrey was not a skilled mathematician. In that book, he is described as learning mathematics and "...he studied the mathematics, and like some other late-developers he advanced at a great pace." In later books, Aubrey is presented as interested and skilled in mathematics and astronomy. He is also a great lover of music and player of the violin; he is a hearty singer. He is a man of even temperament, generally cheerful, sociable and alert to the feelings of his shipmates. He knows every aspect of the ships he sails and how best to gain speed over the oceans from each one by use of the sails without putting too much stress on the masts or yards (which would then break), a complex and hard-earned knowledge. He has been described as "the bluff and ultracompetent Aubrey". He feels the joy of battle; he is skilled in planning his attacks and in carrying them out, using cannon or hand-to-hand fighting. By contrast, he cannot watch his close friend, Dr Maturin, perform a surgery, and is sickened at the sight of blood on Maturin, the natural result of performing surgeries. On board ship, Aubrey on his violin is generally accompanied by his friend and shipmate Stephen Maturin on the cello. Aubrey is particularly fond of the music of Corelli and Boccherini. He is noted for his mangling and mis-splicing of proverbs, sometimes with Maturin's involvement, such as "Never count the bear's skin before it is hatched" and "There's a good deal to be said for making hay while the iron is hot."
Ships commanded by Jack Aubrey
During the series of novels, Jack Aubrey commands a succession of many different vessels. Most of them are warships of the Royal Navy, prefixed HMS (His Majesty's Ship). On one occasion he commands an Honourable East India Company ship, and for some time after she is sold out of the service, the Surprise is a hired vessel working for the Royal Navy (HMHV), having been purchased by Stephen Maturin. The Franklin is a privateer Jack Aubrey captures and uses for a brief time before he sells it. The status of the Nutmeg of Consolation is undefined, as she belongs to Stamford Raffles, the Governor of Batavia. Although the names and characteristics of real Royal Navy ships are used in the novels, the ships often do not take the same cruises or appear in the same battles as they did in history. In his first memorable success, he uses the smaller HM Sloop Sophie to take a larger Spanish vessel. The battle action is based on Cochrane's similar feat as captain of the HM Sloop Speedy in 1800.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Ship
!Rate
!Guns
!Main armament
!Book
!Notional year
!End of commission
!Fictional?
|-
| HM Sloop Sophie
| Brig-Sloop
| 14
| 4 lb
| Master and Commander
| 1800
| Captured
| Yes
|-
| HM Sloop Polychrest
| Sloop
| 24
| 32 lb carronades
| Post Captain
| 1803
| Sunk in battle (structural failure)
| Yes
|-
|
| 5th
| 38
| 18 lb
| Post Captain
| 1804
| Temporary command
| No
|-
| HMS Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| HMS Surprise
| 1805
| Paid off
| No
|-
|
| 5th
| 38
| 18 lb
| The Mauritius Command
| 1809
| Transferred to Raisonnable
| No
|-
|
| 3rd
| 64
| 24 lb
| The Mauritius Command
| 1809
| Monsoon season; transferred back to Boadicea
| No
|-
|
| 4th
| 50
| 24 lb
| Desolation Island
| 1811
| Converted to transport
| No
|-
| HM Sloop Ariel
| Sloop
| 16
| 6 lb
| The Surgeon's Mate
| 1813
| Sunk after striking reef
| No
|-
|
| 3rd
| 74
| 32 lb
| The Ionian Mission
| 1813
| Converted to shear hulk following storm damage
| Yes
|-
| HMS Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| The Ionian Mission
| 1813
| Temporary command
| No
|-
| HEICS Niobe
|
|
| 9 lb
| Treason's Harbour
| 1813
| Temporary command
| Yes
|-
| HMS Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| The Far Side of the World
| 1813
| Paid off, then sold out of service
| No
|-
| HMS Diane
| 5th
| 32
| 18 lb
| The Thirteen Gun Salute
| 1813
| Grounded on a reef, then destroyed by storm
| Yes
|-
| Nutmeg of Consolation
| 6th
| 20
| 32 lb carronades
| The Nutmeg of Consolation
| 1813
| Returned to governor, transferred to Surprise
| Yes
|-
| HMHV Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| Clarissa Oakes
| 1813
| Transferred himself to Franklin
| No
|-
| Privateer Franklin
|
| 22
| 24 lb carronades
| The Wine Dark Sea
| 1813
| Transferred himself back to the Surprise
| Yes
|-
|
| 3rd
| 74
| 32 lb
| The Commodore<br /> The Yellow Admiral
| 1813
| Paid off
| No
|-
|
| 5th
| 38
| 18 lb
| The Hundred Days
| 1815
| Transferred to HMS Surprise
| No
|-
| HMS Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| The Hundred Days
| 1815
| Damaged in collision, then sent in for repairs
| No
|-
| HMHV Surprise
| 6th
| 28
| 12 lb
| Blue at the Mizzen
| 1815
| Promoted: raised Flag on HMS Suffolk
| No
|-
|
| 3rd
| 74
| 32 lb
| The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey
| 1817
| Sold in 1816
| No
|}
Awards and rewards
Aubrey earned the silver Nile medal and wore it on his dress uniform always (mentioned in nearly every novel when the dress uniform is donned). He earned it as a lieutenant in an action before the series began, in the 1798 Battle of the Nile. His portrait was painted to hang at home, showing him wearing the red ribbon of the Order of the Bath, described at the start of Desolation Island, after he returned from great success in The Mauritius Command. The Order of the Bath at that date was an order of knighthood and the recipient would invariably be titled "Sir" unless they had a higher title. However, O'Brian never refers to Aubrey as Sir John, nor does the author have any other character refer to him as Sir John, in any of the novels.
He also received an elaborate diamond chelengk, earned in The Ionian Mission from the Turks, and mentioned in Treason's Harbour as having been saved by Killick. He has a Lloyd's 100-guinea presentation sword, mentioned in the start of The Reverse of the Medal and in The Nutmeg of Consolation. The Order of the Bath ribbon is again mentioned in the unfinished novel The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey, when Aubrey is about to step aboard the ship flying his broad pennant as Rear Admiral of the Blue.
Aubrey is described with his military awards at the start of The Reverse of the Medal.
Grateful owners of merchant ships honoured Aubrey with gifts of silver plate and cash when his efforts protected their ships and cargo. In HMS Surprise, the merchants in Calcutta pay to refit his ship. In The Letter of Marque, Aubrey receives a gift of silver plate from the merchants whose ships had been harried by a French-American privateer captured by the Surprise, herself a British letter of marque.
Heraldry
The Aubreys were an old land holding family who owned various, though untitled, lordships of the manor. Their arms were azure, 3 sheep's heads erased, proper. In addition, Jack was granted the augmentation of 2 Moors' heads, proper, on this arms in honour of his success in the Mauritius campaign.
The complete achievement below shows Jack's awards: the silver Nile medal awarded by his hero Admiral Nelson and the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, which he is entitled to as he was given the Bath for the Mauritius Campaign (notional year above 1809) and so before the reorganization of the Order in 1815. Due to the reorganization in 1815, the existing Knights Companion (of which there were 60) became Knight Grand Cross. Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander, as the earlier pre-1815 knights, have the privilege of prefixing "Sir" to their forenames. Wives of these Knights may prefix "Lady" to their surnames. However, neither Jack nor Sophie were ever called "Sir" or "Lady" in the novels. Knights Grand Cross are also entitled to receive heraldic supporters. O'Brian never mentioned any supporters for Jack's arms. Furthermore, knights grand cross may encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a red circle bearing the motto) with the badge pendant and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of the latter. Also shown are crossed anchors and crossed flags representing Jack's rank in the Royal Navy, the right flag showing his final rank in the books as Rear Admiral of the Blue.
<gallery class="center" widths="300px" heights="300px">
File:Aubrey Arms.png|Arms of the Aubrey Family described in Desolation Island
File:Rear Admiral Sir Jack Aubrey KGB Coat of Arms.svg|Achievement of Rear Admiral Sir Jack Aubrey.
</gallery>
Portrayed in adaptations of the novels
Jack Aubrey is played by Russell Crowe in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He is played by David Robb in the BBC Radio 4 adaptations of the novels and by Michael Troughton in the BBC Radio 4 six-part adaption Master and Commander (1995).