The Nutmeg of Consolation
Encyclopedia
The Nutmeg of Consolation is a historical novel, the fourteenth in the Aubrey-Maturin series, written by British author Patrick O'Brian
. The book is set during the Napoleonic Wars
and concerns the adventures of naval commander
Jack Aubrey
, and his friend, ship's surgeon, naturalist and spy, Stephen Maturin. Its opening chapter continues directly from the ending of the previous novel in the series, The Thirteen-Gun Salute.
after surviving the destruction of HMS Diane in a typhoon. A cricket
match is taking place between the sailors
and marines
- an attempt by the Captain to keep up the crew's spirits as they build the schooner
needed for reaching Batavia. Stephen Maturin is also proving his worth by killing game for the pot, particularly wild boar and babirussas
. The island is visited by two seafaring Dyaks who seem very interested in everything within the sailors' encampment, especially Jack's silver that Killick deliberately rescued from the Diane. The Dyaks promise to take a message to Batavia in exchange for twenty "joes" (Portuguese Johanna coins), but instead return in a seagoing proa
. After killing and beheading the ship's carpenter and some other crew members, they attack the encampment and burn the schooner, but are routed after a bloody conflict and their proa sunk by the last remaining ball from the captain's "long nine" gun.
Whilst Stephen is out hunting, he chances upon four Chinese children collecting birds' nests from the surrounding cliffs, when one of the boys is injured. They inform him their junk
is on its way to Batavia to fetch a cargo of ore from Ketapan
in Borneo
. After Stephen treats the boy, the children's father, Li Po, is persuaded to carry the remaining crew of the Diane in the empty holds of his roomy junk back to Batavia. It is intercepted by a pirate canoe, but it belongs to Wan Da, whom Stephen knows well from Prabang. Upon arriving in Batavia, Aubrey is provided by Sir Stamford Raffles
with a 20-gun ship which Aubrey renames Nutmeg of Consolation after one of the titles of the Sultan of Pulo Prabang, from the previous novel, The Thirteen Gun Salute
. Back at sea, Aubrey hears from a Dutch merchantman that a French frigate, the Cornelie is watering at an island, Nil Desperandum. Aubrey attempts to disguise the Nutmeg as another Dutch merchantman and, on being smoked, engages in battle with the Cornelie but then has to turn tail. With the slower Cornelie in pursuit, Jack attempts to outwit her in the Salibabu Passage but is outmanoeuvred and nearly out-gunned until, at the height of the chase, Nutmeg encounters the Surprise, under the temporary command of Commander Thomas Pullings, accompanied by the Triton, a British privateer. The Surprise and Nutmeg give chase but the Cornelie soon founders and the survivors, including Dumesnil, a French officer Jack and Stephen had met previously, and a third-lieutenant, are taken on board.
Resuming command of Surprise, Aubrey and Maturin continue their interrupted journey to New South Wales
. On their way to Australia
, Maturin rescues two young Melanesia
n girls, the sole survivors of an outbreak of smallpox
brought by a South Seas whaler to the remote Sweeting's Island. Once in New South Wales the book contains graphic descriptions of the life in the penal colony under Governor Lachlan Macquarie
shortly after the "Rum Rebellion
" of the New South Wales Corps
and its coup against Governor William Bligh
. Stephen attends at formal dinner, hosted by Mrs Macquarie
and the Governor's deputy, Colonel McPherson, at Government House
. After hearing the name of Sir Joseph Banks
insulted, and being insulted himself, he fights and wins a duel against a Captain Lowe.
Stephen and Martin tour the countryside examining the local flora and fauna and collecting specimens. They make their way to the Hunter Valley
to stay with Paulton, and Maturin is reunited with his former assistant Padeen Colman at Woolloo-Woolloo. The Irishman was convicted for stealing laudanum
from an Edinburgh
apothecary and, after being flogged with 200 lashes for absconding from the penal settlement, was transferred to Paulton's farm after Maturin bribed a local clerk. Stephen makes plans to have him transferred secretly to the Surprise but his plans are checked by Jack. Maturin also hears from an officer of the recently arrived Waverley that his wife Diana has borne him a daughter.
Stephen and Martin, keen to have one more look for the elusive duck-billed platypus
(Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) or 'water-mole', are taken on a final expedition in the Surprises cutter by Barret Bonden. Stephen has also secretly arranged to rendezvous with Colman at Bird Island
but, as they arrive early, he and Martin search the local pools and spot two platypuses. Stephen manages to secure one - a male - in his net but his arm is pierced by its two poison-spurs. He, along with Padeen, are taken back to the frigate and to everyone's relief Stephen slowly regains consciousness once he is back on board.
New South Wales:
' The Fatal Shore
, a book that provided him with invaluable research information about the history of Australia
and, in particular, the penal colony of New South Wales
.
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
. The book is set during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and concerns the adventures of naval commander
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
Jack Aubrey
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
, and his friend, ship's surgeon, naturalist and spy, Stephen Maturin. Its opening chapter continues directly from the ending of the previous novel in the series, The Thirteen-Gun Salute.
Plot
The Nutmeg of Consolation opens with Aubrey and his crew shipwrecked on a remote island in the South China SeaSouth China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
after surviving the destruction of HMS Diane in a typhoon. A cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
match is taking place between the sailors
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
- an attempt by the Captain to keep up the crew's spirits as they build the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
needed for reaching Batavia. Stephen Maturin is also proving his worth by killing game for the pot, particularly wild boar and babirussas
Babirusa
The North Sulawesi babirusa, Babyrousa celebensis, is a pig-like animal native to northern Sulawesi and the nearby Lembeh Islands in Indonesia. It has two pairs of large tusks composed of enlarged canine teeth. The canines in the maxilla penetrate the top of the snout, curving back toward the...
. The island is visited by two seafaring Dyaks who seem very interested in everything within the sailors' encampment, especially Jack's silver that Killick deliberately rescued from the Diane. The Dyaks promise to take a message to Batavia in exchange for twenty "joes" (Portuguese Johanna coins), but instead return in a seagoing proa
Proa
A proa, also seen as prau, perahu, and prahu, is a type of multihull sailing vessel.While the word perahu and proa are generic terms meaning boat their native language, proa in Western languages has come to describe a vessel consisting of two unequal length parallel hulls...
. After killing and beheading the ship's carpenter and some other crew members, they attack the encampment and burn the schooner, but are routed after a bloody conflict and their proa sunk by the last remaining ball from the captain's "long nine" gun.
Whilst Stephen is out hunting, he chances upon four Chinese children collecting birds' nests from the surrounding cliffs, when one of the boys is injured. They inform him their junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
is on its way to Batavia to fetch a cargo of ore from Ketapan
Ketapang
Ketapang is the capital city of Ketapang regency . Ketapang city is located, on the island of Borneo. It is a small city on the delta of the Pawan River. Ketapang regency is one of the regencies of West Kalimantan province in Indonesia. It occupies an area of 35,809 km²...
in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. After Stephen treats the boy, the children's father, Li Po, is persuaded to carry the remaining crew of the Diane in the empty holds of his roomy junk back to Batavia. It is intercepted by a pirate canoe, but it belongs to Wan Da, whom Stephen knows well from Prabang. Upon arriving in Batavia, Aubrey is provided by Sir Stamford Raffles
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...
with a 20-gun ship which Aubrey renames Nutmeg of Consolation after one of the titles of the Sultan of Pulo Prabang, from the previous novel, The Thirteen Gun Salute
The Thirteen Gun Salute
The Thirteen Gun Salute is an historical novel by Patrick O'Brian set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was first published by HarperCollins in 1989 and is the thirteenth book in the Aubrey–Maturin series, concerning the adventures of naval commander Jack Aubrey, and his friend, ship's surgeon,...
. Back at sea, Aubrey hears from a Dutch merchantman that a French frigate, the Cornelie is watering at an island, Nil Desperandum. Aubrey attempts to disguise the Nutmeg as another Dutch merchantman and, on being smoked, engages in battle with the Cornelie but then has to turn tail. With the slower Cornelie in pursuit, Jack attempts to outwit her in the Salibabu Passage but is outmanoeuvred and nearly out-gunned until, at the height of the chase, Nutmeg encounters the Surprise, under the temporary command of Commander Thomas Pullings, accompanied by the Triton, a British privateer. The Surprise and Nutmeg give chase but the Cornelie soon founders and the survivors, including Dumesnil, a French officer Jack and Stephen had met previously, and a third-lieutenant, are taken on board.
Resuming command of Surprise, Aubrey and Maturin continue their interrupted journey to New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. On their way to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Maturin rescues two young Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
n girls, the sole survivors of an outbreak of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
brought by a South Seas whaler to the remote Sweeting's Island. Once in New South Wales the book contains graphic descriptions of the life in the penal colony under Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
shortly after the "Rum Rebellion
Rum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20...
" of the New South Wales Corps
New South Wales Corps
The New South Wales Corps was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment to relieve the marines who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia. The regiment, led by Major Francis Grose, consisted of three companies...
and its coup against Governor William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
. Stephen attends at formal dinner, hosted by Mrs Macquarie
Elizabeth Macquarie
Elizabeth Macquarie was the second wife of Lachlan Macquarie who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. She played a significant role in the establishment of the colony and is recognised in the naming of numerous Australian landmarks including Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Campbelltown...
and the Governor's deputy, Colonel McPherson, at Government House
Government House, Sydney
Government House is located in Sydney, Australia alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, overlooking Sydney Harbour, just south of the Sydney Opera House...
. After hearing the name of Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
insulted, and being insulted himself, he fights and wins a duel against a Captain Lowe.
Stephen and Martin tour the countryside examining the local flora and fauna and collecting specimens. They make their way to the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
to stay with Paulton, and Maturin is reunited with his former assistant Padeen Colman at Woolloo-Woolloo. The Irishman was convicted for stealing laudanum
Laudanum
Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
from an Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
apothecary and, after being flogged with 200 lashes for absconding from the penal settlement, was transferred to Paulton's farm after Maturin bribed a local clerk. Stephen makes plans to have him transferred secretly to the Surprise but his plans are checked by Jack. Maturin also hears from an officer of the recently arrived Waverley that his wife Diana has borne him a daughter.
Stephen and Martin, keen to have one more look for the elusive duck-billed platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
(Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) or 'water-mole', are taken on a final expedition in the Surprises cutter by Barret Bonden. Stephen has also secretly arranged to rendezvous with Colman at Bird Island
Bird Island (New South Wales)
Bird Island is a small island located in the Tasman Sea adjacent to the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.Bird Island is located approximately 6.5 km north of Norah Head Lighthouse. It is located 1.4 km from the shore. It covers an area of 7.2 hectares and has been a nature...
but, as they arrive early, he and Martin search the local pools and spot two platypuses. Stephen manages to secure one - a male - in his net but his arm is pierced by its two poison-spurs. He, along with Padeen, are taken back to the frigate and to everyone's relief Stephen slowly regains consciousness once he is back on board.
Characters
- Jack AubreyJack AubreyJohn "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...
- Captain of HMS Diane, post-ship Nutmeg and HM Hired Vessel Surprise. - Stephen Maturin - ship's surgeon, friend to Jack and an intelligence officer.
- Sophie Williams - Jack's wife
- Mr Edwards - the deceased Envoy's secretary
- Mr Welby - Captain of the Marines
- Mr Hadley - Dianes carpenter
- Mr Martin
- Mr Fielding - First Lieutenant on the Nutmeg
- "Spotted" Dick Richardson
- Preserved Killick
- Barret Bonden
- Mr Reade - Diane midshipmanMidshipmanA midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
- Ahmed - Stephen's Malay servant
- Mr Macmillan - surgeon's mate
- Li Po - Chinese junk owner
- Wan Da - powerful Malay pirate
- Sir Stamford RafflesStamford RafflesSir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"...
- Lieutenant-Governor of Java - Kesegaran - seafaring Dyak woman
- Green Headcloth - Dyak chieftain
- Mr Sowerby - a Cambridge-educatedUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
naturalist - Mr Adams - purserPurserThe purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
on the Nutmeg - Jean-Pierre Dumesnil - First Lieutenant on the Cornelie; nephew of Captain Christy-PalliereJean-Anne Christy de la PallièreJean-Anne Christy de la Pallière was a French Navy officer.Born to a captain of the French East India Company, Christy-Pallière started sailing in 1773, as an apprentice on an East Indiaman...
- Horse-Flesh Goffin - a cashiered British post-captain
- Miller and Seymour - two young gentlemen sailors taken on-board the Nutmeg as Able Seamen; Seymour is promoted to Third Lieutenant on the Nutmeg
- West and Davidge - two cashiered officers on board the Surprise
- Oakes - midshipman on the Surprise
New South Wales:
- Captain Lowe
- Colonel MacPherson
- John 'Anguish' Paulton - a writer and friend of Martin's
- Dr Redfern - a humanitarian doctor in the penal settlement
Ships
- British
- The Nutmeg of Consolation - a small post-ship (previously the Dutch 20-gun Gelijkheid)
- HM Hired Vessel Surprise
- Plover - a sloop
- The Triton - a letter of marque
- HMS Tromp - fifty-four, carrying dispatches
- HMS Waverly
- French
- Cornélie
- Dutch
- Alkmaar - a merchantman
Historical references
In his Author's Note, O'Brian makes reference to Robert HughesRobert Hughes
-Politicians:*Robert Hughes, Baron Hughes of Woodside , British Labour politician, MP for Aberdeen North*Robert Gurth Hughes , British Conservative politician, MP for Harrow West-Sportsmen:*Robert Hughes , of Stamford FC...
' The Fatal Shore
The Fatal Shore
The Fatal Shore. The epic of Australia's founding, by Robert Hughes, published 1987 by Harvill Press, is a historical account of the United Kingdom's settlement of Australia as a penal colony with convicts. The book details the period 1770 onwards through white settlement to the 1840s, when...
, a book that provided him with invaluable research information about the history of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and, in particular, the penal colony of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
Editions
- Audio Edition Recorded Books, LLC; Unabridged Audio edition narrated by Patrick Tull
- Audio Edition Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged Audio edition narrated by Simon Vance
- E-book edition, W. W. Norton & Company, 2011, (ISBN 9780393088472)