Word: aubreys
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...real Russell Crowe is not quite Aubrey, the unambiguously heroic fellow he plays in Peter Weir's splendidly bracing sea epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Sometimes, the actor comes off as a brute, a primitive: Crowe Magnon Man. So we gladly cede to others the honor of carousing or canoodling with him. We might lock up our daughters at his approach. We would not care to be within striking distance of his coiled wrath...
...already 55 in 1970 when he published Master and Commander, the first of what would be 20 volumes in his irresistible naval saga set in the time of the Napoleonic wars. But by the time the last volume appeared in 1999, O'Brian's tales of Captain Jack Aubrey and his shipmate Dr. Stephen Maturin had become Harry Potter for grownups. Each new book was a heavily anticipated publishing event among not only weekend sailors but also people whose only prior encounter with seafaring had been Sloop John B. By now 8 million copies have been sold...
Russell Crowe's film will expand the O'Brian cult. But new readers drawn by the cannon fire may be surprised to discover how complex the books truly are. Their spiritual through line is the friendship of Aubrey and Maturin, a classic concord of opposed natures. Aubrey is gruff, blocky, pragmatic; Maturin is lean, reserved and cerebral, though stalwart enough to amputate limbs without the niceties of general anesthetic or clean instruments. Both men are moved by music. Maturin plays cello, while Aubrey scrapes along on violin, and their shared attempts at Locatelli or Boccherini are their ultimate expression...
...JACK AUBREY'S HAT. Though the books are set in a time when most officers of the Royal Navy wore their hats with peaks at front and back, Aubrey always wore his sideways, the old-fashioned...
...KILLICK. Aubrey's steward is to the life: cantankerous, odd speech patterns and--nice touch--always serving toasted cheese to the duo before they play music...