The Mauritius Command is the fourth of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels, and somewhat reminscient of the first, in that it’s as much concerned with a third party (there, James Dillion; here, Lord Clonfert) as with either of Jack or Stephen. It is less episodic than the first, being the tale of the British campaign to take the two small islands of Mauritius and La Réunion, in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar, from which the French have been playing havoc on British trade. Jack is given command of the squadron (thanks to Stephen, not that Stephen wanted that known), and for the first time must command other captains against difficult odds.
I found this satisfying on the whole, though I found myself getting mildly confused about locations, and would have done myself a favor if I’d remembered that the book had a map. There are exciting bits, devastating bits, a nuanced and compelling psychological portrait of Lord Clonfert, and a small amount of continuing emotional development of Jack and Stephen after book three’s romantic happenings. Not as many high points as H.M.S. Surprise, but a worthy listen.
As usual, a spoiler post follows.