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''HMS Surprise'' is the third historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1973. The series follows the partnership of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin during the wars against Napoleon's France. Maturin is tortured gathering intelligence. On HMS ''Surprise'', Aubrey and Maturin make a long voyage to bring an ambassador to Southeast Asia, rounding the southern tip of Africa. Some reviewers found the novel with "superb depictions of life", yet too full of nautical detail, while others found that detail part of the author's erudition and not in the way of the plot. The author showed "capacity for creating another completely believable world", while another reviewer said the novel is "stretching its genre (adventure ) but never escaping it." ==Plot summary== A convoy including Aubrey seized the ships carrying the gold deemed necessary by Spain to agree to join the war on the side of France. On the quibble that Spain had not yet entered the war, the new First Lord of the Admiralty decides the vast sum is a droit of the Crown so thus not shared out with the captors. Smaller amounts will be distributed to the captains, quite opposite to the expectations of the successful convoy. The First Lord blunders into mentioning the name of intelligence agent Stephen Maturin during the proceedings, very risky for Maturin. Maturin goes on a mission to Spain, and is to be picked up at Port Mahon by Aubrey, now on convoy duty near Toulon on HMS ''Lively''. At the rendezvous point, Aubrey learns from a Catalan revolutionary that Maturin has been captured and is being tortured by French intelligence in Port Mahon on Minorca, returned to Spain in the Peace of Amiens. Aubrey leads a rescue mission, saving a ravaged Maturin and killing all but one of the French interrogators (Captain Dutourd). In England, Aubrey is taken by bailiffs and is held in a sponging-house. Maturin tells Sir Joseph of his capture and Aubrey’s predicament. Aubrey's marriage to Sophia Williams is deferred, as her mother insists that he be debt-free. Maturin gets Aubrey an advance on his grant of money. Aubrey is released. Sophia meets Aubrey before he takes command of his new ship HMS ''Surprise''. They meet in a coach in the middle of the night, and promise to marry no one else. Aubrey and Maturin leave in the ''Surprise'' to ferry an ambassador to the Sultan of Kampong on the Malay Peninsula. Aubrey hopes to find the French squadron commanded by Admiral Linois, who once took him prisoner. ''Surprise'' gets caught in the doldrums north of the equator, and the crew show signs of scurvy. On a very hot Sunday, Maturin takes a short stop on St Paul's Rock. Two serious storms strike; the officer who rowed him out is drowned and ''Surprise'' is damaged and driven out of sight. Maturin survives on bird-fouled water and the blood of boobies, and claims that these days under the hot sun have restored his health after the torture. They stop along the coast of Brazil for fresh foods and supplies, and a sloth; this is Maturin's first time in the New World. They put in at Rio for mail. Refitted and repainted, ''Surprise'' goes wide around the Cape of Good Hope, held by the Dutch who are allied with Napoleon. In the waters of the Antarctic Ocean, they endure a severe storm. The ambassador becomes very ill. They put into Bombay in India to refit after the storms and to rest the ambassador. Maturin meets a local street-wise child, a girl named Dil, who eagerly shows him around the city. Maturin is watching a parade with Dil when he sees Diana Villiers, who has returned to India ahead of her companion, Richard Canning. They agree to visit, and spend several days together, at the end of which Maturin asks her to marry him. She does not reply immediately, but promises she will when ''Surprise'' stops in Calcutta. Maturin finds Dil dead and robbed of the silver bracelets that he had given her; he supervises her cremation on the shore. The ambassador dies before reaching the Sunda Strait so the ''Surprise'' sets sail for Britain. They encounter the East India Company's China Fleet, returning to England unescorted. A day after leaving the China Fleet the ''Surprise'' spots Linois's squadron in the Indian Ocean. ''Surprise'' engages the smallest ship of the squadron, the corvette ''Berceau'', shredding her rigging, then speeds back to the China Fleet to warn them and organize a defence. Choosing the largest ships of the China Fleet, Aubrey dresses them as men-of-war and sends some of his officers to help them fight. The French squadron closes on the ''Surprise'' and the large Indiamen. The ''Surprise'' engages the largest French warship, the ''Marengo''; she is outgunned and in peril when one of the Indiamen engages the French ship from the other side, forcing ''Marengo'' to disengage. Damage forces the French squadron to abandon the chase in order to refit. Ashore in Calcutta, Aubrey receives an enthusiastic welcome from the merchants, including Canning, who are happy to refit the ''Surprise''. As a personal reward, they allow him to transport jewels as freight, which will earn him a good prize upon his arrival in England. During the refit, Canning finds Maturin in the company of Villiers. In a fit of jealousy Canning slaps Maturin, and Maturin challenges him to a duel. Canning intends to kill Maturin, but wounds him. Maturin intends to wound Canning, but kills him. Maturin convinces Villiers to return to England on a merchant ship that will leave immediately, rather than tend to him as he recovers aboard the ''Surprise''. With the help of Aubrey and M'Allister, Maturin stoically operates on himself, removing the bullet near his heart. Aubrey tends to his friend in the worst period of fever, where the secretive man speaks all his secrets. Aubrey sends a note to Sophia, asking her to meet at Madeira, having had news of funds to clear his debts. In port, Maturin finds that Villiers left him a note returning the ring he gave her, and travelled with Mr Johnstone from America, who had visited her in Calcutta. Sophia is not there. Within a day’s sailing, Aubrey overtakes the frigate HMS ''Ethalion'' under Heneage Dundas and finds that Sophia is aboard. She promises to marry him once they return to England. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Surprise (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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