The Unknown Shore

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

Inspired by the Wager disaster, The Unknown Shore is an immediate precursor to Patrick O'Brian's acclaimed Aubrey/Maturin series that displays all the splendid prose and attention to detail that delight O'Brian's millions of fans.

Patrick O'Brian's first novel about the sea, The Golden Ocean, took inspiration from Commodore George Anson's fateful circumnavigation of the globe in 1740.

In The Unknown Shore, O'Brian returns to this rich source and mines it brilliantly for another, quite different tale of exploration and adventure.

The Wager was parted from Anson's squadron in the fierce storms off Cape Horn and struggled alone up the coast of Chile until she was driven against the rocks and sank. The survivors were soon involved in trouble of every kind. A surplus of rum, a disappearing stock of food, and a hard, detested captain soon drove them into drunkenness, mutiny, and bloodshed. After many months of privation, a handful of men made their way northward under the guidance of a band of Indians, at last finding safety in Valparaiso.

This saga of survival is the background to the adventures of two young men aboard the Wager: midshipman Jack Byron and his friend Tobias Barrow, an alarmingly naive surgeon's mate. Patrick O'Brian's many devoted readers will take particular interest in this story, as Jack and Toby form a kind of blueprint for Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, the famed heroes of the great Aubrey/Maturin series to come.

©1959 Patrick O'Brian (P)1996 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Here is an unexpected bonus: a precursor to the Aubrey-Maturin series...with all the charm of the author's mature works." (The New York Times)

Wonderful predecessor to the Aubrey Maturin series

Wonderful predecessor to the Aubrey Maturin series, highly recommended to fans of that series. (minus the outdated prejudice against native peoples)

An amazing journey

Plus the Full wit of Patrick O'Brian, Who should never be read by anyone but Patrick Tull. The early version of the Aubrey Maturin stories, some of the most grim and comical adventures you'll hear anywhere.

Great story for lovers of the nautical adventures

Great story for lovers of Aubrey/Maturin series! while not about the same characters, this story's protagonists feel like the author was developing the former. Jack and Tobias are younger (midshipman and surgeon's mate) but their character and personality traits make you think it's (almost) a younger Aubrey and Maturin.
Told with the same wit as his later books, part of the story made me laugh out loud, and the fact that the underlying story is based on true occurrence makes it all the more incredible as to the hardship that they endured in the second part of the book.
Also the narrator does a fantastic job!

Not for listening in a car

An expansive yarn that encompasses a world that no one living has had the chance to experience. But don't listen in a car, plane or anywhere there is background noise and no N/C earphones. The narrative is very realistic with many asides, mutters and introspection that gets lost.

As Good as the Series

I came to the end of the Aubrey/Maturin series and felt like I had lost four friends, Jack Aubrey, Steven Maturin, Patrick O'Brian and Patrick Tull. Well, here they are back again. The youthful protagonists of this book, Jack and Tobias, are not quite Aubrey and Maturin, since the book is set in 1740, but one is a midshipman and the other a surgeon's mate, and they bring a fresh, young presence with many of the characteristics of their more well known literary descendents. O'Brian's dry humor and human insight, as well as his knowledge of the Royal Navy (here in Anson's time before the problem of longitude was solved) are already on display, and Tull does a masterful job reading. Highly recommended.

Spellbinding.

Would you listen to The Unknown Shore again? Why?

Six or nine times because I hear something new each time and the story is so excellently written and narrated. I love Patrick O'Brian's wordsmithery.

What other book might you compare The Unknown Shore to and why?

Don't know, other than Cold Mountain, it's just one of my favorites.

What about Patrick Tull’s performance did you like?

Virtually everything.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

One really vicious trip through a frozen hell and back again.

Any additional comments?

I'll most likely listen to it again...and again.

Early start for the Aubrey series good book

What made the experience of listening to The Unknown Shore the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the story line it had some funny parts and drama

What other book might you compare The Unknown Shore to and why?

It was the early start of the Audrey series and Mr O'Brian has a real talent to weave a story to get the reader interested in all the characters

Have you listened to any of Patrick Tull’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Patrick Tull is a true professional and adds his gift to the characters in the story

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many both on a level of human of enteraction and the qualities of the people involved

Any additional comments?

I am glad I had a chance read the early work and enjoyed it

the story was mostly true,

the part when Tobius and Jack were travelling with the indigenous people was detailed. I have never read about how the natives survived in Tierra del Fuego?

Underappreciated Masterpiece

This book is continually described as a sort of practice run for the Aubrey-Maturin series, but it is much more than that. A satirical comedy in the first half, a heartbreaking tragedy in the middle and a deeply satisfying ending show O'Brian at his best.

Nautical adventure

A sort of prequel to the Master and Commander series. Great fun for Aubrey/Maturin fans.