The Golden Ocean

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: John Franklyn-Robbins

The first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series.

In the year 1740, Commodore (later Admiral) George Anson embarked on a voyage that would become one of the most famous exploits in British naval history. Sailing through poorly charted waters, Anson and his men encountered disaster, disease, and astonishing success. They circumnavigated the globe and seized a nearly incalculable sum of Spanish gold and silver, but only one of the five ships survived.

This is the background to the first novel Patrick O'Brian ever wrote about the sea, a precursor to the acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series that shares the excitement and rich humor of those books. The protagonist is Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, who signs on as a midshipman, never before having seen a ship.

Together with his lifelong friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking upon a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands, and excitement.

Here is a tale certain to please not only admirers of O'Brian's work but also any reader with an adventurous soul.

©1956 Patrick O’Brian (P)1995 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"An entertaining and psychologically astute narrative....This early work has practically all the naval lore and sense of place that grace the Aubrey/Maturin books." (Publishers Weekly)
"A rousing novelistic retelling of a particularly colorful chapter in the history of the imperialist wars of the mid-18th century...Robust and exhilarating." (Los Angeles Times)

Excellent all around

this early work shows just how great Patrick O'Brien was. All of the elements of an epic are here. he does a wonderful job of showing the Arcane world of the royal Navy. the characters leap off the page

Amusing high sea adventure

Loved the Irish men and their way of speaking. The humor in hard times and the love of adventure. A wonderful Patrick O’Brian sea story.

The Golden Sea

I enjoyed following the lives of Peter & Shawn as they sailed around the world & the experiences they had. I gave it 4 stars bc there was as a lot of sailing information I didn’t understand

A pleasure to listen

This being my first audio book, I think I've been spoiled. What a wonderful narrator. I read all 21 Aubrey-Matruin novels but goingback to Patrick O'Brian's first was a joy. The narrators inflexions in his voice for each character allows the reader to identify with the character immediately.

The story was good, but the narrator was ok.

I’m a huge Patrick O’Brian fan and have read most of his books. I decided to listen to The Golden Ocean because I haven’t read it in about 20 years and thought it would be a good listen. I had forgotten how slow the book starts and it really doesn’t capture the true O’Brian sea tales that I love until about 3/4 through the book. The ending is pure O’Brian treasure, but it takes a long time to get there. My biggest complaint and probably the reason for the slogging through the majority of the first half is the narrator. He would be great for a story about an old man, but this is a tale of a young midshipman heading to sea. The old man’s voice can’t capture the youth of the story.
I’m still a huge O’Brian fan and always will be. I’m looking forward to continuing listening to his other works, just hoping the narrator matches the tale.

Very well done!

Great story, excellently narrated. Characters are voiced wonderfully, reading pace very well done. O'Brian fans will not be disappointed. Highly recommended!

Absolutely brilliant. O’Brian is a genius.

The narrator entertainingly portrays all the different characters and their accents, bringing O’Brian’s captivating tale to life with all the author’s trademark dry wit, wealth of seafaring detail and trenchant observations of human nature. The only thing better is reading the book yourself, but that’s hard to do when you’re driving. A joy either way.

A wonderful prequel to Master and Commander

This is a wonderful entertaining prequel to the Master and Commander series. The writing and reading are lyrical and thoroughly engrossing. The text is spare and perfectly suited to the time of place of the story. One is transported to the British Navy of the 18th century with all of its cultural, ritualistic and stylistic norms. I have listened to the entire Master and Commander series three times and am now listening to Golden Ocean for the second.
This is very highly recommended for anyone who can appreciate excellent writing, reading and storytelling.

A Great Story of Shipboard life in 1740

I am a big fan of Patrick O’Brian (1914-2000). I have read all the Aubrey/Maturin Series. I thought I had read all of O’Brian’s books until I discovered “The Golden Ocean”. I understand it was his first novel.

The story takes place from 1740-44. Our protagonist is Peter Palafox who is a midshipman under Commodore George Anson. They are on a voyage to circumnavigate the world. The historical novel is well written, but maybe it is not as polished as his later books. O’Brian does an excellent job of portraying life aboard a Royal Navy Ship. This book was first published in 1956. O’Brian was one of the greatest writers of sea stories.

The book is eleven hours and three minutes. John Franklyn-Robbins (1924-2009) does an excellent job narrating the book. Franklyn-Robbins was a British Shakespearean actor. He was also a well-known audiobook narrator.

Transported to a distant time!

Truly a tale of wooden ships and iron men. The character of these seafarers is described in wonderful detail by O’Brian. Many times I found myself transported to distant shores and the thrill of combat at sea. The detail of shipboard life moved me to find an application for my iPhone which rings the 8 bell watch rhythm. The narrator does an excellent job of voicing the different characters to the point of my being able to see them take physical form in my minds eye. A book to be shared by fathers with their sons.