Patrick O’Brian Books in Order
41 books are credited to Patrick O’Brian, published between 1930 and 2019; 7 of them appeared after Patrick O’Brian's death in 2000. The first book is Caesar (1930) and the newest is The Uncertain Land and Other Poems (2019). Publication order is the reading order below. 21 of the 41 books listed here are in the Aubrey/Maturin series, which has its own page: Aubrey/Maturin books in order.
- Books
- 41
- Published
- 1930–2019
- Confirmed
- 41 of 41 titles
- Pages on record
- 10,026 in 34 of 41 books
- Reading time
- 167–251 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,026 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 41 titles with a page count on record.
Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, a ship's captain and a ship's physician, carry Patrick O'Brian's sea novels from Master and Commander (1969). The catalogue holds 41 books reaching back to Caesar (1930), with standalone novels, short stories and non-fiction beside the Aubrey/Maturin run. Naval history and sea adventure supply the material, and the 1990s were the densest decade.
How many Patrick O’Brian books are there?
Patrick O’Brian has 41 books, released between 1930 and 2019. 7 of them were published after Patrick O’Brian's death in 2000. 21 of them belong to the Aubrey/Maturin series.
Patrick O’Brian Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 41 Patrick O’Brian books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119301003/4
- 219382883/4
- 319522223/4
- 419532243/4
- 519542693/4
- 619562853/4
- 719593203/4
- 819623363/4
- 919694113/4
- 1019724963/4
- 1119733793/4
- 121974953/4
- 1319742213/4
- 1419765203/4
- 1519773483/4
- 1619773253/4
- 1719783553/4
- 1819803823/4
- 1919813673/4
- 2019833343/4
- 2119843663/4
- 2219862873/4
- 2319873283/4
- 2419882843/4
- 251989–3/4
- 2619913153/4
- 2719922563/4
- 2819932613/4
- 2919942493/4
- 3019942813/4
- 3119952763/4
- 3219962623/4
- 3319982803/4
- 341999–3/4
- 352004–3/4
- 362014–3/4
- 372014–3/4
- 382014–3/4
- 39No Pirates Nowadays and Other Stories: Three Nautical TalesPatrick O'Brian Short Story #42014 · confirmed 3/42014–3/4
- 40Beasts Royal: Twelve Tales of AdventurePatrick O'Brian Short Story #52015 · 128 pages · confirmed 3/420151283/4
- 4120191763/4
Patrick O’Brian series and characters in order
Each link below opens a reading-order page with every book in publication order.
Patrick O’Brian books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Patrick O'Brian Standalone Novels
8 books8 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Patrick O'Brian Short Story
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Patrick O'Brian Non-Fiction
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Patrick O'Brian Short Stories/Novellas
3 books3 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Patrick O’Brian Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Patrick O’Brian books run from Caesar (1930) to The Uncertain Land and Other Poems (2019), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Patrick O’Brian in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Patrick O’Brian books in order?
You only need to read Patrick O’Brian books in order within the Aubrey/Maturin series, which holds 21 of the 41 Patrick O’Brian books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Patrick O’Brian
Start with the first book of the Patrick O’Brian series you want to read: Aubrey/Maturin starts with Master and Commander (1969) and Jack Aubrey / Stephen Maturin starts with Master and Commander (1969). The earliest catalogued title overall is Caesar (1930).
What is the newest Patrick O’Brian book?
The Uncertain Land and Other Poems (2019) is the newest Patrick O’Brian book released so far.
Is there a new Patrick O’Brian book coming?
No next Patrick O’Brian book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Patrick O’Brian at a glance
- Died
- Patrick O’Brian died in 2000, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Patrick O’Brian are still being published after Patrick O’Brian's death in 2000; the newest appeared in 2019.
- Release pace
- Patrick O’Brian books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 10,026 pages across the 34 of 41 books with a recorded length, a median of 286 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Patrick O’Brian books, 9 of 41, were published in the 1990s.
What the Patrick O’Brian books are about
37 of the 41 Patrick O’Brian books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: historical fiction is tagged on 18 of 37. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Historical fiction 18 of 37 books
- Jack Aubrey (Fictitious character) 15 of 37 books
- Naval history 15 of 37 books
- Stephen Maturin (Fictitious character) 14 of 37 books
- Aubrey, jack (fictitious character) 12 of 37 books
- Action & adventure 11 of 37 books
- Ship captains 11 of 37 books
- Ship physicians 11 of 37 books
- Great Britain 9 of 37 books
- Maturin, stephen (fictitious character) 9 of 37 books
- Sea stories 9 of 37 books
- History, Naval 4 of 37 books