{"product_id":"hms-surprise-aubrey-maturin-book-3","title":"HMS Surprise (Aubrey-Maturin, Book 3)","description":"\u003cp\u003ePatrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written.\u003c\/p\u003e\n          \u003cp\u003eH.M.S. Surprise follows the variable fortunes of Captain Jack Aubrey's career in Nelson's navy as he attempts to hold his ground against admirals, colleagues and the enemy, accepting a mission to convey a British ambassador to the East Indies. The voyage takes him and his friend Stephen Maturin to the strange sights and smells of the Indian sub-continent, and through the archipelago of spice islands where the French have a near-overwhelming superiority.\u003c\/p\u003e\n          \u003cp\u003eRarely has a novel managed to convey more vividly the fragility of a sailing ship in a wild sea. Rarely has a historical novelist combined action and lyricism of style in the way that O' Brian does. His superb sense of place, brilliant characterisation, and a vigour and joy of writing lift O'Brian above any but the most exalted of comparisons.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harpercollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41537203470514,"sku":"9780006499176","price":260.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/361576_61e5621885ae89.78187434_9780006499176_df65244c-e9df-4c2e-b1b6-54f714da2ff3.jpg?v=1643062509","url":"https:\/\/www.wordsworth.co.za\/products\/hms-surprise-aubrey-maturin-book-3","provider":"Wordsworth Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}