Order of Book Series
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Aubrey/Maturin Books in Order

Aubrey/Maturin by Patrick O’Brian contains 21 books, published between 1969 and 2004. The first book is Master and Commander (1969) and the newest is 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (2004). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
21
Published
1969–2004
Confirmed
21 of 21 titles
Pages on record
5,989 in 18 of 21 books
Reading time
100–150 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,989 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 18 of 21 titles with a page count on record.

See all 21 books in order Printable Aubrey/Maturin checklist

Aubrey/Maturin is Patrick O'Brian's sequence of naval historical novels set during the Napoleonic Wars. The friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon, natural philosopher and intelligence agent, carries the whole run. Master and Commander (1969) opens it, the last completed novel appeared in 1999, and a twenty-first book, left unfinished when O'Brian died in 2000, reached print in 2004 as 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey. Twenty completed novels and that fragment make up the series, most of which reached The New York Times Best Seller list.

How many Aubrey/Maturin books are there?

Aubrey/Maturin has 21 books, released between 1969 and 2004.

Aubrey/Maturin Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 21 Aubrey/Maturin 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.

  1. Cover of Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian, book 1 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1969)
  2. Cover of Post Captain by Patrick O’Brian, book 2 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1972)
  3. Cover of H.M.S. Surprise by Patrick O’Brian, book 3 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1973)
  4. Cover of The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian, book 4 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1977)
  5. Cover of Desolation Island by Patrick O’Brian, book 5 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1977)
  6. Cover of The Fortune of War by Patrick O’Brian, book 6 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1978)
  7. Cover of The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O’Brian, book 7 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1980)
  8. Cover of The Ionian Mission by Patrick O’Brian, book 8 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1981)
  9. Cover of Treason's Harbour by Patrick O’Brian, book 9 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1983)
  10. Cover of The Far Side of the World by Patrick O’Brian, book 10 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1984)
  11. Cover of The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O’Brian, book 11 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1986)
  12. Cover of The Letter of Marque by Patrick O’Brian, book 12 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1988)
  13. Cover of The Thirteen-Gun Salute by Patrick O’Brian, book 13 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1989)
  14. Cover of The Nutmeg of Consolation by Patrick O’Brian, book 14 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1991)
  15. Cover of The Truelove / Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O’Brian, book 15 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1992)
  16. Cover of The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian, book 16 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1993)
  17. Cover of The Commodore by Patrick O’Brian, book 17 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1994)
  18. Cover of The Yellow Admiral by Patrick O’Brian, book 18 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1996)
  19. Cover of The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian, book 19 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1998)
  20. Cover of Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian, book 20 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (1999)
  21. Cover of 21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey by Patrick O’Brian, book 21 of the Aubrey/Maturin series (2004)
  1. 1
    Master and Commander1969 · 411 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1969411
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Post Captain1972 · 496 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1972496
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    H.M.S. Surprise1973 · 379 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1973379
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Mauritius Command1977 · 348 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977348
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Desolation Island1977 · 325 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977325
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Fortune of War1978 · 355 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1978355
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Surgeon's Mate1980 · 382 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1980382
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Ionian Mission1981 · 367 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1981367
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Treason's Harbour1983 · 334 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1983334
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Far Side of the World1984 · 366 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1984366
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Reverse of the Medal1986 · 287 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1986287
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Letter of Marque1988 · 284 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1988284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Thirteen-Gun Salute1989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Nutmeg of Consolation1991 · 315 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991315
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Truelove / Clarissa Oakes1992 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Wine-Dark Sea1993 · 261 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993261
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Commodore1994 · 281 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994281
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Yellow Admiral1996 · 262 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    The Hundred Days1998 · 280 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Blue at the Mizzen1999 · confirmed 3/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey2004 · confirmed 3/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Aubrey/Maturin?

No separate chronological order is on record for Aubrey/Maturin, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Aubrey/Maturin books in order?

You should read the Aubrey/Maturin books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Aubrey/Maturin book also stands alone.

Where to start with Aubrey/Maturin

Start with Master and Commander (1969), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Aubrey/Maturin book?

21: The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (2004) is the newest Aubrey/Maturin book released so far.

Is there a new Aubrey/Maturin book coming?

No next Aubrey/Maturin book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Aubrey/Maturin at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Aubrey/Maturin title on record dates from 2004, 22 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Aubrey/Maturin books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,989 pages across the 18 of 21 books with a recorded length, a median of 330 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Aubrey/Maturin books, 7 of 21, were published in the 1990s.

What the Aubrey/Maturin books are about

All 21 Aubrey/Maturin 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 15 of 21. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Historical fiction 15 of 21 books
  • Jack Aubrey (Fictitious character) 15 of 21 books
  • Stephen Maturin (Fictitious character) 14 of 21 books
  • Naval history 13 of 21 books
  • Aubrey, jack (fictitious character) 12 of 21 books
  • Ship captains 11 of 21 books
  • Ship physicians 11 of 21 books
  • Action & adventure 9 of 21 books
  • Maturin, stephen (fictitious character) 9 of 21 books
  • Sea stories 9 of 21 books
  • Great Britain 7 of 21 books
  • History, Naval 2 of 21 books

More books by Patrick O’Brian

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Characters in the Aubrey/Maturin books

The character linked below has its own reading-order page.