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''The Far Side of the World'' is the tenth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1984. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. In Gibraltar, Captain Aubrey receives another mission, to sail HMS ''Surprise'' to protect British whalers in the Pacific Ocean from USS ''Norfolk''. Dr Maturin had great success destroying the French intelligence network in Malta, but has not yet identified the high-level men who got away. Unaware, he sends the letter to his own wife explaining his protection of the Navy wife via that very villain. The Pacific Ocean is full of wonders, and prizes, once the Jonah is off the ship. ==Plot summary== Aubrey meets Admiral Ives, now in Gibraltar, who is pleased with the last mission of HMS ''Surprise'', despite Aubrey’s negative report. Mr Yarrow will rephrase the report to make the results clearer to the Admiralty. The admiral is now a peer, his deepest wish, and he is a happy man. Aubrey dines with Laura Fielding and her husband, Lieutenant Fielding, who is now completely satisfied that his wife is true to him and thanks Aubrey for his kindness to her in bringing her from Malta to Gibraltar (though it is Maturin who is responsible for her being on the ship, having saved her from two assassins and brought her aboard to escape). Maturin receives news from his intelligence-chief in London, Sir Joseph Blaine, confirming high level infiltration of British intelligence by the French. Maturin's wife Diana has heard rumours of the infidelity he pretended in Valletta, Malta, with Mrs Fielding for intelligence reasons. He sends her a letter via Andrew Wray, unsuspecting of Wray's role as a French agent. Maturin learns of his success in Malta, destroying the French intelligence network based there, all but André Lesueur taken. ''Surprise'' is not yet to be broken up; Aubrey is sent by Admiral Ives on a mission to protect British whalers in the Pacific Ocean from the USS ''Norfolk'', sailing on HMS ''Surprise''. Aubrey makes all haste to prepare his ship with men and supplies. He recruits Mr Allen, a new master with an in-depth knowledge of whalers, takes on Mr Martin as schoolmaster to the midshipmen and Mr. Hollom, an aging midshipman. Aubrey wonders if his kindness takes aboard a Jonah with Hollom. The ''Surprise'' sails to the farthest east point of Brazil, where the bowsprit is burnt by lightning. During the repairs, Pullings sees the USS ''Norfolk'' pass by. Mrs Horner, the gunner's wife, engages in an affair with Hollom, and gets pregnant. Maturin will not interfere with the pregnancy, so she turns to his assistant, Higgins, who leaves her near death. Maturin saves her life. Hollom was long considered a Jonah by the crew. ''Surprise'' rounds Cape Horn with some losses, and then reaches the Juan Fernández Islands to refit and recover. There, the gunner kills his wife and Hollom, and re-boards the ship. Off Chile, Horner learns that Higgins performed an abortion on his wife; Higgins disappears from the ship and Horner hangs himself in his cabin. ''Surprise'' retakes the packet ''Danaë'', with Lieutenant Lawrence in command, and in the Pacific, retakes the valuable whaler ''Acapulco'' with Caleb Gill, nephew to the ''Norfolks captain in command. Tom Pullings sails the packet ship back to England, after Maturin and Aubrey take possession of a hidden brass box, per instructions to Maturin. Mr Allen negotiates with the agent for the whaler in Valparaiso, where the American prisoners are left ashore. Taking the whaler restores the spirit to the crew. Arrived at the Galapagos archipelago, Maturin and Martin are amazed at the new species they see on land, in the air and in the sea. ''Surprise'' picks up men from the whaler ''Intrepid Fox'', now burnt by USS ''Norfolk''. Knowing where the ''Norfolk'' is headed, Aubrey sails along the equator west toward the Marquesas. Maturin is disappointed and furious that the promise made to let him explore ashore is broken. Aubrey saves Maturin when he falls overboard one evening, but no one misses them until dawn. The two men are rescued by Polynesian women on a Pahi, who ultimately leave them on a small island with a fishing line. The launch from the ''Surprise'' finds them. Maturin is needed aboard ''Surprise'', as the group sent to board the Pahi was cruelly beaten by the women. After surviving the tail of a typhoon, the ''Surprise'' finds the ''Norfolk'' wrecked on a reef by the same typhoon and her survivors encamped on an island. Aubrey, Mr Martin and some of the crew take Maturin ashore for surgery; he is in a coma since hitting his head during the typhoon. Just as the surgeon from the ''Norfolk'', Dr Butcher, prepares to operate, Maturin wakes from his coma. Before they can rejoin their ship, a heavy storm blows the ''Surprise'' away. Relations between the two marooned groups are tense, because some of the Norfolks were mutineers in 1797 aboard HMS ''Hermione''; they will be hanged by the British. One admits this to Bonden. Aubrey tells the American Captain Palmer that he and his crew are prisoners of war. Both groups are eager to leave this island. Aubrey orders his carpenters to lengthen the launch so they can sail away, pushing the rest to collect food. He sees an American whaler on the horizon. The crew of the ''Norfolk'' spot the same whaler, cheer at the sight, and then kill their informer. The Norfolks fight with the Surprises. Their cheering stops when the whaler loses two masts and strikes her colours, because it is the ''Surprise'' that takes her in chase. 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「The Far Side of the World」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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