The Yellow Admiral

Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 18

By: Patrick O'Brian

Narrated by: Patrick Tull

While surviving life-threatening adventures at sea, Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin find life on land to be even more perilous. Aubrey has dimmed his prospects of an admiralty by his erratic voting in Parliament. He is on even worse terms with his wife, Sophie, when his mother-in-law ferrets out a trove of old personal letters. Fortunately, Maturin brings news that the Chileans need the two seafaring friends to train their navy.

Fresh, dynamic, and breathtakingly alive, The Yellow Admiral continues O'Brian's reign as king of historical fiction. Narrator Patrick Tull's accents enhance O'Brian's elegant language, eccentric characters, and authentic nineteenth-century atmosphere.

Don't miss the rest of the Aubrey/Maturin series.©1996 Patrick O'Brian (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC.

Critic reviews

"O'Brian is at the top of his elegant form here." (Publishers Weekly)
"The best historical novels ever written." (The New York Times Book Review)
"They display staggering erudition on almost all aspects of 18th-century life, with impeccable period detail." (Times Literary Supplement)

Gotta Get 'Em All!

Seriously, I'm loving every one of these. Patrick Tull is the BEST reader for these books.

The End Nears

The war is coming to an end, time is running out and soon Jack will either be yellowed, a great fear of his, or be stuck on the Post-Captain's list until the end of his days. The need to distinguish himself and elevate his position to be able to hoist his flag as an admiral of the fleet is great but despite his desperate efforts he is blocked at every attempt. After months of guarding the English coast and news of the war finally coming to an end he gains an incredible opportunity to distinguish himself over in South America with a classic Maturin mission. However while he is at the very beginning of this mission Napoleon escapes from his imprisonment on the island of Elba and the war is back on.

I absolutely loved being able to listen to this story while at the same time seeing real history unfold and gaining an insight to some of the potential thoughts and emotions people at that time would have had. O'Brian weaves another incredible tale of Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr Stephen Maturin and I am so excited to listen to the next book as our favorite characters make the mad dash to the Rock of Gibraltar in an attempt to prevent dangerous French naval action and exercise the opportunity to distinguish themselves.

Another Amazing Book

This is an amazing story in an amazing series! Never thought I'd enjoy anything this much.

Throughly delightful.

Do date, I have throughly enjoyed every work in the series. I value this one for its attention to the woes of service members when the wars end. It’s not that they are sad for peace, but that they’re entire way of life, as they have known it, mor most, vanishes before their eyes, it is quite jarring and unsettling. A deep sense of purpose and camaraderie vanishes in a moment.

​A Bit Off Course

​It always takes me a while to get back into Aubrey–Maturin series because there are so many books and after 17 novels, it's a bit hard to keep track. #18, "The Yellow Admiral", went a bit off course. The first half was a tad bit too political and there wasn't enough action in the sea. I did enjoyed the description of the food and Patrick O'Brian's vivid picture of 19th Century.

As for Patrick Tull's vocal skills, I found him to be annoying this time. I've been listening to him well over 200 hours, talking about the Navy, acting out each characters and explaining the settings. I appreciate Recorded Books using the same narrator and keeping the same tone throughout the series though.