Main characters and their families

• 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...
  
  is one of the heroes of the series. His rise from a young lieutenant
  Lieutenant
  A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
  
   in the Royal Navy
  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...
  
  , through the ranks of commander
  Commander
  Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
  
   and post-captain
  Post-Captain
  Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
  
   to rear-admiral is chronicled thoroughly. A resourceful and powerful man, he is regarded as one of the best fighting captains in the Royal Navy
  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...
  
  . Part of Aubrey's success is the result of having been disrated from midshipman and turned before the mast as a common sailor, in part because of a love affair he has with a black girl named Sally Mputa (this occurs prior to Master and Commander, but is referred to in several novels). Though this experience is painful at the time, it gives him unique (among officers) insight into the life and beliefs of common sailors, enabling him to more effectively lead them as an officer. His own hero is Lord Nelson
  Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
  Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
  
  . His crew often follows him from ship to ship, not just because of his leadership but also due to his knack for capturing valuable prizes, for which he is nicknamed "Lucky Jack". Aubrey is also referred to by some as "Goldilocks" because of his long yellow hair. His physical characteristics, namely a large frame and scarred visage, often lead to an underestimation of his mental abilities, but he is also a renowned mathematician and amateur astronomer, a Fellow of the Royal Society. Aubrey's love of women has led to problems with the men he has cuckold
  Cuckold
  Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
  
  ed and with his wife, Sophie. His other great loves are the violin and puns, which he seems to enjoy creating as much as telling. Unfortunately, as masterful and lucky as Jack is at sea, he is somewhat inept and unlucky by land, and is often forced to hurriedly take ship in order to escape his troubles.

• Stephen Maturin is the series' other hero. A former Irish radical, he is a ship's surgeon who has sailed with Aubrey since his first voyage as Commander. Unlike many surgeons in this era, Maturin is a physician
  Physician
  A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
  
  , and is highly regarded for his intimate knowledge of anatomy and diseases. His skills have saved the lives of many of his shipmates. He is acknowledged as a man of high breeding (The Fortune of War, p. 48), and while on land he is consulted by such prominent figures as the Duke of Clarence
  William IV of the United Kingdom
  William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
  
  . Maturin is also well known in the scientific community as a naturalist
  Natural history
  Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
  
  , specializing in comparative anatomy
  Comparative anatomy
  Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...
  
   of birds but also willing to examine (and sometimes dissect) any interesting animal that crosses his path. His qualities as a doctor are only outshone by his skills as an intelligence agent, a profession only suspected by those he sails with but one by which he has occasionally confounded Napoleon's attempts at European domination. Despite spending so much time aboard ships, Maturin has little knowledge of their qualities and terminology, which does not stop him from trying to explain various sailing terms and maneuvers to people even less informed. His appearance—small, pale, and usually dishevelled—does not make him very appealing to the opposite sex, but that does not deter him from trying to win the heart of the beautiful Diana Villiers. Unfortunately, Maturin is, from what he claims is a spirit of pure philosophical enquiry, also a regular dabbler in any intoxicating drug that comes his way. Though just barely not crossing the line that separates heavy use from addiction, he has dabbled in laudanum
  Laudanum
  Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
  
  , a tincture of opium
  Opium
  Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
  
  , coca leaves, from which cocaine
  Cocaine
  Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
  
   is produced, and other local intoxicants ranging from bhang
  Bhang
  Bhang is a preparation from the leaves and flowers of the female cannabis plant, smoked or consumed as a beverage in the Indian subcontinent.- India:...
  
   to khat
  Khat
  Khat, qat, gat or Waquish Spoken from true Yemeni, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula....
  
  , depending on where he happens to be at the moment. Maturin also has the sometimes distressing habit of bringing both live (wombats, a hive of bees, "a most discriminating" sloth) and dead animal (and human) specimens on board ship. Most are tolerated (even the bees) due to the crew's respect for Stephen's talents as a physician and natural philosopher, some, such as severed human hand and a narwhal's horn are seen as lucky talismans.

• Sophia "Sophie" Aubrey (nee Williams) is Jack's wife. Her provincial and prudish upbringing ensures that she does not share his amorous tendencies, but they still have a happy marriage and three children (two twin girls, Charlotte and Fanny, and a boy, George). Sophie proves to be very competent at keeping accounts, in addition to successfully managing a household whose main provider (Jack) is often absent for months at a time. Sophie has two sisters, Cecilia and Frances, who appear in Post-Captain. Frances is said to be having a child in Ulster in book seven of the series, The Surgeon's Mate (112).

• Mrs. Williams is Aubrey's mother-in-law. In HMS Surprise, Maturin describes her as "a deeply stupid, griping, illiberal, avid, tenacious, pinchfist, a sordid lickpenny and a shrew". Despite being stingy and obsessed with money, she is quite credulous and snobbish, which leads her to get involved in, for example, an illegal bookmaking operation, where she loses a great deal of her fortune and is threatened with arrest. Mrs. Williams dies in an accident when the coach she is riding in, driven by her niece Diana Villiers-Maturin, overturns.

• Samuel Mputa (aka Sam Panda) is the illegitimate son born out of Aubrey's affair with Sally Mputa during his day as a midshipman. Samuel is described as identical to Aubrey in appearance except for his dark skin tone. He was raised by Catholic missionaries in Mozambique
  Mozambique
  Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
  
  , and comes to seek his father's blessing, which he receives. Both Aubrey and Maturin find him to be a valuable and enjoyable companion, and thanks in part to Maturin's influence, Samuel becomes a priest and eventually Papal Nuncio to Argentina
  Argentina
  Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
  
  .

• General Aubrey is Jack Aubrey's father. He has embarrassed his son on numerous occasions with his politics, which swing all the way from extreme right wing to extreme left wing, but always in opposition to the Government. The General remarries after Jack's mother dies, and eventually provides Jack with a half brother, Philip. In The Reverse of the Medal, the General and his associates buy heavily into stocks that Aubrey unwittingly recommends to them, causing Jack Aubrey to be tried for stock fraud and briefly stripped of his rank in the Navy. The General flees the country to avoid being arrested; his corpse is later discovered in a ditch (The Letter of Marque).

• Diana Villiers
  Diana Villiers
  Diana Villiers is a fictional character in the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. Described as beautiful, mercurial, and entirely unreliable, she is the great love and great sorrow of Stephen Maturin's life....
  
  is Sophie's beautiful cousin and her opposite in many respects. She has a great love of horses and riding and breeds Arabian
  Arabian horse
  The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
  
  s. Her impetuous nature has led to more than one ill-conceived affair, but eventually Maturin wins her over. O'Brian perhaps took her name from Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
  Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey
  Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...
  
  , the notorious mistresses of the Prince Regent
  George IV of the United Kingdom
  George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
  
  . During one of her many periods of disgrace, Diana is described as running about with "Lady Jersey's set." Diana temporarily flees her home after the birth of her daughter Brigid, unable to deal with the young girl's autism
  Autism
  Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
  
  .

• Brigid Maturin is Stephen and Diana's daughter, born while he was away at sea. Before her father met her she was severely introverted, showing signs of what a modern doctor would diagnose as autism. After Diana's grief-driven departure, Padeen's gentle and nurturing manner helps her to connect with the world, and gain a full recovery.

Shipmates

• William Babbington is a midshipman in Aubrey's first command, HM Sloop Sophie. As a midshipman, Babbington has an almost insatiable lust for the fairer sex. Stephen notes that Babbington's stunted growth is likely the result of his frequent encounters, at an early age, with poxed ladies of the evening. Babbington later becomes a master and commander, and then a Post Captain (in The Letter of Marque), both because of his natural ability (augmented by having been trained by Aubrey), and because he has influential relations who control several seats in Parliament. As a master and commander of the ship in which Maturin and Diana travel back from Paris in The Surgeon's Mate
  The Surgeon's Mate
  The Surgeon's Mate is a historical novel written by Patrick O'Brian and set during the Napoleonic Wars. It is the seventh book in the Aubrey–Maturin series.-Plot summary:...
  
  , he solemnises their marriage (p. 382). Babbington himself later falls in love with Admiral Harte's daughter, inconveniently married to the traitorous Andrew Wray.

• Barret Bonden is Aubrey's highly competent, highly valued coxswain
  Coxswain
  The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
  
  . Bonden appears in the first book of the series, Master and Commander, as the coxswain and captain of the maintop in HM Sloop Sophie. He is described as "a fine open-looking creature, tough without brutality, cheerful, perfectly in his place and, of course, a prime seaman - bred to the sea from childhood." In this same novel, Aubrey asks Bonden to become a member of the quarter-deck, but Bonden declines, responding, "I ain't got the learning, sir." (p. 275). Nevertheless, Bonden's obvious abilities and trustworthiness enable Aubrey to entrust him with many missions of his own, several of which involve looking after Maturin during Maturin's activities as an intelligence agent. Bonden also proves to be valuable in always taking care to get the perpetually clumsy doctor safely on and off ship. Maturin returns the favor by teaching Bonden how to read and write. Bonden, along with his cousin, Joe Plaice, follows Aubrey from ship to ship. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Bonden was portrayed by Billy Boyd.

• "Awkward" Davies has long followed Aubrey from ship to ship. As his nickname suggests, he is a clumsy sailor, known for dropping sharp edged tools from great heights, narrowly missing his shipmates. This, coupled with his immense strength and his hot temper, make him an undesirable crew mate. Despite this, he is valued as a powerful fighter useful for boarding and cutting out expeditions. He has the dubious distinction of being saved from drowning twice by Aubrey, which has earned Davies' undying gratitude. In the final Aubrey/Maturin adventure, Blue at the Mizzen, Aubrey describes Davies in a letter written to his wife Sophie:

• "Your favourite Awkward Davies can be positively dogged, if crossed by a new hand: but in a boarding-party, or storming a shore-position, he is worth his weight in gold, heavy though he is. His huge bulk, his terrifying strength and activity, the awful pallor of his face and his way of foaming at the mouth when he is stirred, all make him a most dreadful opponent. What Stephen calls his berserker rage fairly clears the enemy's decks before him. He also howls. But he has other sides: not only is he very useful when you must sway up the mast short-handed, but in sudden emergencies too." (p. 98-99). Davies was played in the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
   by Patrick Gallagher.

• Faster Doudle is a seaman often found in ships under Jack Aubrey's command. In The Fortune of War he is described as the Leopard's wicket-keeper. His last name is pronounced like the word "dawdle", punning on the ironic connection of the two words. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Doudle was portrayed by William Mannering. In "The Far Side of the World
  The Far Side of the World
  The Far Side of the World is an historical novel by Patrick O'Brian set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was first published by HarperCollins in 1984 and is the tenth book in the Aubrey-Maturin series, concerning the adventures of naval commander Jack Aubrey, and his friend, ship's surgeon,...
  
  ," his name is spelled both as Doudle and as Doodle.

• Preserved Killick is Aubrey's shrewish steward, inherited from Captain Allen when Aubrey assumes command of HM Sloop Sophie in Master and Commander. He also comes to unofficially care for Maturin (The Fortune of War, p. 57), particularly his long-suffering uniforms and clothes, and never resists the opportunity to nag either of them (though mostly Maturin, his habits generally leaving him looking much shabbier than Aubrey) for their carelessness in appearance. He is also known to listen in on their private conversations, steal from the captain's private stores, and drain more than his fair share of wine from the captain's table. Despite all these shortcomings, he is a highly valued, fiercely loyal and well-respected member of Aubrey's crew. Killick follows Aubrey from ship to ship, and it is no surprise that larger dictionaries define killick as a small anchor. Killick's star does fade slightly in the nineteenth book, The Hundred Days, when an assistant at one of Aubrey's dinners "in a paroxysm of adolescent drunkenness, spewing improbable jets of Madeira," contrives to trip Killick and the poor steward cracks Stephen's sacrosanct narwhal horn (p. 89). Eventually, the horn, which the superstitious crew believes will bring good fortune to the ship, is restored, as is Killick's standing among his fellows. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Killick was portrayed by actor David Threlfall
  David Threlfall
  David Threlfall is an English stage, film and television actor and director best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's Manchester-based drama series Shameless. He has also directed several episodes of the show.-Early life:...
  
  .

• Nathaniel Martin is an Anglican priest and friend of Maturin who shares his love of nature and lack of maritime knowledge. Martin has an unfortunate tendency to buy his knowledge of living creatures at the expense of personal injury, including the loss of an eye to an owl, but his knowledge of anatomy and former experience in stuffing birds make him an obvious choice for surgeon's mate under Stephen. Martin serves in this capacity through several novels, eventually becoming known as an assistant surgeon when this title replaces surgeon's mate. Later, Martin serves as Surprise's surgeon during Stephen's absence (Thirteen-Gun Salute and The Nutmeg of Consolation). Sailors, who normally consider churchmen unlucky on board a ship, are often prepared to accept him in this medical capacity, further comforting themselves with the mistaken belief that he is only aboard because he was defrocked for having an affair with his Bishop's wife. Martin is introduced in The Ionian Mission as a parson, a thin and shabby literary gentleman. At this time he is a young man (younger than Stephen, at any rate) who is eager to please and to be pleased; these qualities, along with his interest in nature, slowly fade with time. Martin's career at sea ends when he inadvertently gives himself mercury poisoning during his attempt to cure himself of syphilis
  Syphilis
  Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
  
  , a disease he does not have.

• William Mowett - Originally a master's mate
  Master's mate
  Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
  
   in HM Sloop Sophie, he became one of Aubrey's junior lieutenants in the Surprise. Mowett and another lieutenant, Rowan, who appears in The Ionian Mission, are amateur poets of indifferent talent, who try to outdo each other in declaiming bombastic poetry, one in "the classical style" and another in "the modern style" - their poems all having to do with shipwrecks, lee shore
  Lee shore
  The terms lee shore and windweather or ward shore are nautical terms used to describe a stretch of shoreline. A lee shore is one that is to the lee side of a vessel - meaning the wind is blowing towards it. A weather shore has the wind blowing from inland over it out to sea...
  
  s and naval battles. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Mowett was played by Edward Woodall
  Edward Woodall
  Edward "Ed" Woodall is an English movie and stage actor. He also directs stage productions in London.Woodall trained at the Jacques Lecoq International Theatre School....
  
  .

• Padeen (Patrick Colman) is Maturin's longtime servant and loblolly boy
  Loblolly boy
  A loblolly boy on a warship was a non-professional assistant to the ship's surgeon. In Tobias Smollett's 1748 novel The Adventures of Roderick Random, the first to describe Royal Navy life in detail, the protagonist Random was made a loblolly boy upon entering the Royal Navy, and ultimately...
  
  . Only Maturin is able to communicate with him, as Padeen has a cleft palate and can only speak in the Irish
  Irish language
  Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
  
   tongue. Addicted to opium after he was anaesthesized with laudanum
  Laudanum
  Laudanum , also known as Tincture of Opium, is an alcoholic herbal preparation containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight ....
  
   following a shipboard accident, he broke into an apothecary
  Apothecary
  Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
  
   shop to steal some. He was caught and transported
  Penal transportation
  Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
  
   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...
  
  . Padeen was later pardoned. His patient, gentle nature became instrumental in bringing Brigid, Maturin's disabled (possibly autistic
  Autism
  Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
  
  ) daughter, out of her shell. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Padeen was played by John DeSantis
  John DeSantis
  John DeSantis is a Canadian actor, perhaps best known as Lurch in the 1998–99 Fox Family production of The Addams Family, entitled The New Addams Family. This role was originally portrayed by Ted Cassidy. He is 206 cm tall. Because of his great height, he has been recognised as one of the...
  
  .

• Joseph "Joe" Plaice is an able seaman and long-time follower of Aubrey, described as "deeply stupid" but an excellent hand in Post Captain. He is Barret Bonden's cousin. He was played in the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
   by George Innes
  George Innes
  George Innes is an English actor.-Stage career:He began his career on the stage with the National Theatre of Great Britain under Laurence Olivier. Before that, he trained at Toynbee Hall and evening classes at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , where he was awarded the Shakespeare Cup...
  
  . In the film, Stephen Maturin saves his life by performing brain surgery after he sustains a depressed skull fracture. In the novel series, this procedure is performed upon both Plaice (in The Far Side of the World) and Mr Day, the gunner of HM Sloop Sophie (in Master and Commander). Like Awkward Davies/Davis, Plaice is a character whose name seems to change over time: In Treason's Harbour, for example, Stephen Maturin refers to a "William Plaice," a shipmate whom O'Brian had earlier described as "an elderly forecastle hand" -- the same terminology he has used in other contexts to describe Joe Plaice.

• Thomas Pullings is a long-time officer of Aubrey's, serving under him as a master's mate - a senior midshipman
  Midshipman
  A 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...
  
   - in his first command HM Sloop Sophie. He is later promoted to commander
  Commander
  Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
  
   and post captain for his bravery in various shipboard actions Aubrey leads him into. His being neither wealthy nor influential, besides having a face that is badly scarred by a Turkish saber cut, means that though promoted, he doesn't get offered a ship, so that in his earlier career he transferred to the British East India Company
  British East India Company
  The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
  
  , commanded transport ships (so that he was attached to the British government's Transport Board
  Transport Board
  The Transport Board was the British Royal Navy organisation responsible for the transport of supplies and military. It is also referred to as the Board of Transport and Transport Office....
  
  , though still retaining his nominal rank in the navy). He later rejoins the navy, regularly serving as a volunteer aboard Aubrey's ships. When Aubrey is dismissed from the Navy after a false accusation of stock fraud, Pullings, who remains on "half pay" (Royal Navy officers get full pay only when they are posted to a ship) again ships as a volunteer on the Surprise in its new character as a letter of marque
  Letter of marque
  In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
  
  . When Aubrey is made a commodore, Pullings serves as his Flag-Captain. In the 2003 film
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
  
  , Pullings was portrayed by James D'Arcy
  James D'Arcy
  -Early life:James D'Arcy was born as Simon D'Arcy and grew up in Fulham, London, with his mother, Caroline and his younger sister Charlotte. His father died when he was young. After completing his education at Christ's Hospital in 1991, he went to Australia for a year and worked in the drama...
  
  .

• William Reade is first seen as a midshipman, though he is eventually promoted to master's mate. In the events described in The Nutmeg of Consolation
  The Nutmeg of Consolation
  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...
  
  , he loses his entire arm due to injuries sustained in battle (p. 45), but later novels appear to indicate that he only lost his hand. Regardless of the full nature of this injury, it does not impair his abilities as a sailor or an officer; as a master's mate, he typically captains Aubrey's private tender
  Ship's tender
  A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
  
  , a fast Baltimore Clipper
  Baltimore Clipper
  Baltimore Clipper is the colloquial name for fast sailing ships built on the south-eastern seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland...
  
   called the Ringle. Reade fills a vacancy that develops as Pullings, Babbington and Mowett mature, embark on independent naval careers, and start their own families, in that Reade is an eager young man (initially a boy) to whom Aubrey, and to a lesser extent Maturin serve as mentors.

Other recurring characters

• Sir Joseph Blaine is Maturin's superior in British Naval Intelligence. He is a keen naturalist and, like Maturin, a fellow of the Royal Society, with a particular interest in beetles. The fictional character of Sir Joseph Blaine is to some degree based on the real life 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,...
  
  , who nevertheless also makes brief appearances in the series. A bit more character information is here http://wiki.hmssurprise.org/index.php/Joseph_Blaine and an essay about the actual historical context of British intelligence at the time in relation to the O'Brian novels, in the form of a book review of "Most Secret and Confidential: Intelligence in the Age of Nelson," by an authoritative reviewer is here https://www.odci.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/fall_winter_2001/article10.html. or here https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/fall_winter_2001/article10.html.

• Mrs. Broad is the owner and keeper of The Grapes
  The Grapes
  The Grapes is a public house backing onto the Thames waterfront, located at 76 Narrow Street, London E14 8BP . It is owned in partnership by Evgeny Lebedev, Sean Mathias and Ian McKellen, and managed by Paul Mathias.- History :...
  
  , a comfortable inn in the Liberties of the Savoy, where Stephen often stays when in London. Mrs. Broad looks after Stephen as best as she can, and tolerates his habitual untidiness, and his habit of dissecting dead animals and human corpses in the inn premises. She has a daughter, Lucy, who assists her in running The Grapes.

• Capitaine de Vaisseau Christy-Pallière
  Jean-Anne Christy de la Pallière
  Jean-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...
  
  - A French post captain with English cousins, who speaks fluent English that is however slightly quaint from his habit of mangling quotations - "Let us gather rose pods while we may" as he says, for "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Aubrey surrenders to him after HMS Sophie is taken, but Christy-Pallière, impressed with the resistance of the Sophie, refuses to take his sword and insists that he continue to wear it. He is apparently promoted to Admiral, as we hear from his nephew Lt. Dumesnil (affectionately called Pierrot), lieutenant of the French frigate Cornélie in 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,...
  
  . When he appears again in The Hundred Days, he is again a post captain, who renounces Napoleon, declares his loyalty for King Louis XVIII
  Louis XVIII of France
  Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
  
   and places his frigate at the disposal of the Royal Navy.

• Heneage Dundas
  George Heneage Dundas
  Rear Admiral George Heneage Lawrence Dundas CB was a senior naval officer and First Naval Lord.-Family:He was the fifth son of Thomas Dundas by his wife Charlotte, daughter of the third Earl Fitzwilliam.-HMS Queen Charlotte:In February 1800 George Heneage Dundas was aboard Lord Keith's flagship,...
  
  is a friend and former shipmate of Aubrey. He is a fellow post-captain, the son of one First Lord of the Admiralty
  Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
  Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville PC and Baron Dunira was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He was the first Secretary of State for War and the last person to be impeached in the United Kingdom....
  
   and the brother of a later First Lord
  Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville
  Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville KT, PC, FRS was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was also Keeper of the Signet for Scotland from 1800...
  
  . Although the basic facts of his name and relationship are based on the actual individual, most of the actions and events he participates in during the books are fictional.

• Professor Ebenezer Graham is a professor of Oriental languages, sent as an envoy to the Ottoman Empire
  Ottoman Empire
  The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
  
   navy on the Surprise in The Ionian Mission
  The Ionian Mission
  The Ionian Mission is a historical novel by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars. It is the eighth in the Aubrey-Maturin series.-Plot summary:...
  
  . He is stereotypical Scotsman: dour, humorless, and speaking with a broad Scots
  Scots language
  Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
  
   burr. He is also an inept secret agent, working for a branch of British intelligence service that is in conflict with Maturin's branch. Landing on the French coast on a secret mission, he literally shoots himself in the foot by accident, so that Stephen, on a secret mission of his own, has to drag him to safety, jeopardizing his own mission. He is initially offended by Maturin's dry attempts at levity, but eventually comes to respect Maturin's skills at espionage.

• The Duke of Habachtsthal is a minor royal, a German nobleman and distant relation of the King, who is the homosexual lover of Wray and Ledward. After their death, he continues to pass secrets on to France, while trying to get Aubrey into royal disfavor, and also trying to get Maturin arrested for his mostly forgotten fringe role in the Irish rebellion of 1798, as well as for illegally bringing Padeen and Clarissa, both transported convicts, over from Australia. He is said to have cut his throat (in The Commodore
  The Commodore (novel)
  The Commodore is an historical novel set during the Napoleonic Wars, written by British author Patrick O'Brian and published by HarperCollins in 1995. It is the seventeenth volume in the Aubrey-Maturin series. The novel features the adventures of naval commander Jack Aubrey, and his friend, ship's...
  
  ), possibly due to the threat of trial for treason after being identified by Clarissa Oakes and following extensive investigation carried out by Parker, a Bow Street Runner employed by Maturin and Sir Joseph Blaine. This would be a traditional courtesy to noblemen: allowing them to commit suicide and save themselves the ignominy of a public trial and even more public execution.

• Captain (later Admiral) Harte is Aubrey's nemesis and, later, also Babbington's father-in-law. His hatred of Aubrey stems from Aubrey's cuckold
  Cuckold
  Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
  
  ing him in Master and Commander
  Master and Commander
  Master and Commander is a historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. First published in 1969 , it is first in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. Closely based on the historical feats of Lord Cochrane, O'Brian's novel is set in the...
  
  . While never calling Jack out, he nevertheless tries to foil Aubrey's professional advancement whenever possible unless he can personally profit from it, as when Aubrey is placed under his command in Post Captain, even though Aubrey fails to bring in many prizes. Harte is especially angry about this because he did not profit from the "Sophie's" many prizes in Master & Commander, as he was commandant of the harbor and did not receive a share of the prize money. Harte is described as a little man, somewhat resembling Lord St. Vincent
  John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
  Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
  
   in appearance but not in character. He is killed in Treason's Harbour when his secret orders are compromised by Andrew Wray and his ship is destroyed in battle.

• Molly Harte is Captain Harte's wife, with whom Aubrey has an affair in Port Mahon as a young Lieutenant and Commander.

• Gedymin Jagiello is a Lithuania
  Lithuania
  Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
  
  n officer in the Swedish
  Sweden
  Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
  
   army. He is described as a beautiful, blonde-haired young man, perpetually unaware of his effect on the fairer sex. He meets Aubrey and Maturin as part of a mission to the Baltic in The Surgeon's Mate, and is with them throughout their shipwreck, imprisonment in Paris and subsequent escape. Maturin receives letters from an anonymous source that suggested Jagiello was having an affair with Diana, but they were likely sent by French agents attempting to compromise Maturin. When Diana leaves Maturin and flees to Sweden in The Reverse of the Medal, she lives under Jagiello's protection; however, in The Letter of Marque it is revealed that theirs is not a sexual relationship, and that she has helped arrange Jagiello's own forthcoming marriage.

• Harry Johnson is an American intelligence agent and spymaster in Boston, and at one time Diana Villiers' lover. Diana became pregnant with his child, but suffered a miscarriage later. Johnson's cultured exterior hides a violent temper. After he discovered that Maturin had fled America with Diana (in The Fortunes of War) Johnson doggedly pursues Maturin across the Atlantic, and later betrays Maturin to the French.

• Lord Keith
  George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith
  George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...
  
   is an Admiral in the Royal Navy. He makes Aubrey his protege from the earliest stages of his career and assists him at various points in the series. Lord Keith eventually marries Queenie, Jack's childhood tutor and friend.

• Edward Ledward - Homosexual lover of Andrew Wray, an official in the British Treasury department, and a French spy who is eventually discovered and forced to flee to France. He had been to Malaya in his youth and is fluent in the Malay language and with Malay court etiquette, so that he serves as the French envoy's official interpreter in 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,...
  
  . When the French mission fails, Maturin dissects Ledward and Wray after having possibly shot them himself.

• Admiral Linois is a French admiral whom Jack Aubrey first encounters when the Sophie is taken by his squadron in the Mediterranean. Later, after Aubrey has been paroled, Linois and his ships are involved in Sir James Saumarez
  James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
  Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez , GCB was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.-Early life:...
  
  's battle against a combined French and Spanish fleet in the Gut of Gibraltar. In HMS Surprise
  HMS Surprise
  Thirteen ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Surprise or HMS Surprize, including:* HMS Surprize, a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1746 and sold in 1770.* HMS Surprize, a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1774 and sold in 1783....
  
  Jack, with the assistance of a fleet of armed merchant ships belonging to the British East India Company
  British East India Company
  The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
  
  , fights against Linois' squadron, taking the Surprise into a yardarm to yardarm battle (a cannon duel at point blank range) against Linois' 74 gun ship of the line, the Marengo.

• Clarissa Oakes was the eponymous character in the novel Clarissa Oakes (published as The Truelove in the US). Her early life was very difficult; she was sexually abused as a child, then left penniless after the death of her guardian. She took a job as a book-keeper in a brothel
  Brothel
  Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
  
  , where she was occasionally forced to work as a prostitute. These experiences left her with no emotional attachment to the act of love-making. She was sentenced to death for killing a man (she blew off his head with a fowling piece), but the sentence was commuted to transport to Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
  , 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...
  
  . When the Surprise
  HMS Surprise
  Thirteen ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Surprise or HMS Surprize, including:* HMS Surprize, a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1746 and sold in 1770.* HMS Surprize, a 28-gun sixth rate launched in 1774 and sold in 1783....
  
   leaves Sydney, Jack discovers that midshipman Oakes has smuggled the convict on board. While Jack quickly marries the two off in order to prevent problems with the authorities. Clarissa's presence causes friction among the crew, as she is somewhat free with her "favors" until Maturin convinces her to be faithful to her husband. Clarissa is able to provide Maturin with information that uncovers the source of intelligence leaks inside the British government. Stephen is able to set up Clarissa on his estate in England, where she resides after her husband's death at sea. Clarissa later acts as Stephen's daughter's guardian after Diana leaves home, unable to deal with Brigid's autism
  Autism
  Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
  
   (in The Commodore). In Blue at the Mizzen
  Blue at the Mizzen
  The novel Blue at the Mizzen is the last completed work in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. A blue ensign at the mizzen-mast indicated the presence of a Rear Admiral of the Blue, the lowest flag-rank in the Royal Navy of the early 19th century....
  
  she marries a scholarly clergyman.

• Queenie
  Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith
  Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith born Hester Maria Thrale was a British literary correspondent and intellectual. She was the eldest child of Hester Thrale, diarist, author and confidante of Samuel Johnson, and Henry, a wealthy brewer and patron of the arts...
  
  or Queeney is a childhood friend of Jack Aubrey, about ten years older than he is. Daughter of a neighbouring family, she became a mother figure to Jack after his own mother died, and also tutored him in mathematics (she is a scholar, mathematician and linguist). She later marries Lord Keith as his second wife in 1800. Queenie is a real person, actually married to Lord Keith in 1808; her true name is Hester Maria Thrale, but she is spoken of as "Queeney" in Boswell
  James Boswell
  James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
  
  's Life of Johnson and Mme. D'Arblay
  Fanny Burney
  Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...
  
  's Diary.

• Dr. Ramis is a French officer and ship's surgeon under Capitan de Vaisseau Christy-Palliere. He is a friend of Maturin's, as well as an agent for the British, assisting Maturin with Catalonia
  Catalonia
  Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
  
  n affairs.

• Sarah and Emily Sweeting are first seen on their small Pacific island, where they are the sole survivors of a smallpox epidemic which has annihilated the other inhabitants. Stephen Maturin rescues them and brings them aboard the ship. Initially Sarah and Emily speak no English, but they soon master both styles spoken in the ship, quarterdeck and below-decks varieties (the latter including oaths and swearing). After they rebel against his attempt to place them in an Australian orphanage, he eventually asks the landlady of his London Inn, The Grapes in Savoy, to take them in. They reappear in subsequent books, developing into fine helpers to Mrs. Broad, the landlady, especially as market shoppers and cooks.

• Amanda Smith: Aubrey's affair with Smith occurs during his brief stay in Halifax
  City of Halifax
  Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
  
   (The Surgeon's Mate). Even before he has left Halifax, he regrets this affair, but when her love letters, including notice of a coming child, follow him to England, Aubrey begins to worry that the obsessed Smith might follow him herself. Eventually, Smith marries someone else, and her pregnancy appears to be imagined. Many years later her letters to Jack are discovered by Mrs. Williams, who shows them to Sophie, providing her with proof of Jack's infidelity.

• Christine Wood, née Hatherleigh, is the wife (later widow) of Governor Wood of Sierra Leone
  Sierra Leone
  Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
  
  . She is a sister of Maturin's Royal Society colleague Edward Hatherleigh. Maturin finds her to be, like himself, a competent amateur naturalist and anatomist, and soon falls in love with her, especially after Diana's death. In 21, he finds himself fighting a duel with a rival suitor of hers.

• Andrew Wray - Son-in-law of Admiral Harte, as well as Second Secretary at the Admiralty. He has a poisonous hatred for Jack Aubrey, who once (rightly) accused him of cheating at cards, and tries to do everything possible to silently blight his career. He is responsible for causing dissension between Maturin and Diana by not passing on his letters to her. He is a double agent
  Double agent
  A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
  
   working for the French, and is responsible for passing naval secrets to French Intelligence, which pays him generously but is quite reluctant to cover the huge gambling debts he incurs. He is a homosexual, and has a lover, Edward Ledward, another highly placed official in the British government, who is also a spy for France. After causing much trouble for the British cause, Wray's dual role is discovered and he flees for France. In 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,...
  
  , Wray and Ledward are part of a French diplomatic mission to Malay competing for the Malay court's allegiance against a British contingent which includes Aubrey and Maturin. When the French mission fails, Maturin dissects Ledward and Wray after having possibly shot them himself.

• Amos Jacob is a Jewish physician, intelligence-agent and naturalist who appears first in The Hundred Days. He is close friends with Maturin, and it is clear that they knew each other long before Dr. Jacob was introduced in the series. As Maturin's assistant surgeon and fellow naturalist, he plays a similar role to Martin, though as a physician he is much more medically competent and he often assists Maturin in his covert activities, using his previous profession as a jewel merchant as a cover. He is well liked by the hands of the Surprise both for his medical talent and for bringing a 'Hand of Glory' (a preserved hand taken from an executed criminal), which is considered a lucky charm and is used by the crew to explain their subsequent success.