The Fortune of War
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Published: November 4, 1996
Language: eng
Number of pages: 348
ISBN-13: 9780006499190
First sentence: The warm monsoon blew gently from the east, wafting HMS Leopard into the bay of Pulo Batang.
Description: Captain Jack Aubrey, RN, arrives in the Dutch East Indies to find himself appointed to the command of the fastest and best-armed frigate in the Navy. He and his friend Stephen Maturin take passage for England in a despatch vessel. But the war of 1812 breaks out while they are en route. Bloody actions precipitate them both into new and unexpected scenes where Stephen's past activities as a secret agent return on him with a vengeance.