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Title details for The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brian - Available

The Hundred Days

#19 in series

by Patrick O'Brian
Simon Vance
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
2 of 2 copies available

When Napoleon escapes from Elba, the fate of Europe hinges on a desperate mission: Stephen Maturin must ferret out the French dictator's secret link to the powers of Islam, and Jack Aubrey must destroy it. Like a vengeful phoenix, Napoleon pursues his enemies across Europe. If he can corner the British and Prussians before their Russian and Austrian allies arrive, his genius will lead the French armies to triumph at Waterloo.

In the Balkans, preparing a thrust northwards into Central Europe to block the Russians and Austrians, a horde of Muslim mercenaries is gathering in support of Napoleon. However, they will not move without a shipment of gold ingots from Sheik Ibn Hazm, which, according to British intelligence, is on its way via camel caravan to the coast of North Africa. It is this gold that Aubrey and Maturin must intercept at all costs.

The colorful historical backdrop, engaging plot, and memorable characters make this nineteenth Aubrey-Maturin adventure a must-listen.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Aubrey & Maturin

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 1, 2006

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781481582179
      • File size: 256493 KB
      • Duration: 08:54:21

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Text Difficulty: 8-12

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 19, 1998
      The Aubrey-Maturin series (The Commodore, etc.) nears the two dozen mark the way it began, with colorful historical background, smooth plotting, marvelous characters and great style. The title refers to Napoleon's escape from Elba and brief return to power. Capt. Jack Aubrey must stop a Moorish galley, loaded with gold for Napoleon's mercenaries, from making its delivery. The action takes us into two seas and one ocean and continues nearly nonstop until the climax in the Atlantic. We're quickly reacquainted with the two heroes: handsome sea dog Jack Aubrey, by now a national hero, and Dr. Stephen Maturin, Basque-Irish ship's doctor, naturalist, English spy and hopelessly incompetent seaman. Nothing stays the same, alas: Jack has gained weight almost to obesity, and Stephen is desolated by the death of his dashing, beautiful wife--but they're still the best of friends, each often knowing what the other is thinking. The prose moves between the maritime sublime and the Austenish bon mot ("a man generally disliked is hardly apt to lavish good food and wine on those who despise him, and Ward's dinners were execrable"). There are some favorite old characters, notably Aubrey's steward, Preserved Killick: "ill-faced, ill-tempered, meagre, atrabilious, shrewish" and thoroughly amusing. Chief among entertaining newcomers is Dr. Amos Jacob, a Cainite Jew ("they derive their descent from the Kenites, who themselves have Abel's brother Cain as their common ancestor"), who comes from a family of jewel merchants and has an encyclopedic grasp of Hebrew, Arabic and Turkish languages (and politics). Jacob is as expert as Stephen at spying and even more of a landlubber. O'Brian continues to unroll a splendid Turkish rug of a saga, and if it seems unlikely that the sedentary Stephen would hunt lions in the Atlas mountains (with the Dey of Algiers!), O'Brian brings off even this narrative feat with aplomb.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The title of this novel, the nineteenth in O'Brian's seafaring saga, refers to the hundred-day reign of Napoleon after his escape from Elba in March 1815 until his defeat at Waterloo. For his narration of O'Brian's seafaring saga featuring Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, Patrick Tull is the undisputed master and commander. Tull, who has also read the Brother Cadfael and Horace Rumpole mystery series for Recorded Books, provides a seasoned and seaworthy tone of authority, colored with his understanding of O'Brian's wry and playful sense of humor. This installment takes the British sea captain and his scholarly friend into Balkan battlefields, north African mountains and Muslim caravan routes. S.E.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      This series follows the careers of Aubrey, a Royal Navy officer, and Maturin, a naval surgeon during the Napoleonic Wars. THE HUNDRED DAYS deals with Napoleon's return from exile. British actor Robert Hardy is superb in reading this abridgment. He gives each character consistent and believable accents, bringing out the character of each. He is just as adroit when performing non-British accents and the wonderful narrative sections. Period music is used as a transition between episodes. All in all this is a fine listening experience. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Napoleon has escaped from Elba and seeks an alliance with the forces of Islam. Civilization as we know it hangs by a thread. Enter Patrick O'Brian's dynamic duo, Jack Aubrey (a commodore now) and Dr. Steven Maturin, his brilliant, melancholic friend. Critics have often said that O'Brian writes too well and knows too much to produce a simple seagoing adventure story, and they're right, but this is a knife that cuts two ways. For verisimilitude these novels simply can't be beat. Add Patrick Tull's exquisitely English voice, and you can smell the salt air, name every scrap of rigging and feel the roll of wooden decks. B.H.C. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Text Difficulty:8-12

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