Men O'war

The opening of the film Master and Commander (Fox, fall 2003) will bring the realities of life in the Navy at the time of the Napoleonic wars to a whole new audience. Based on the first of the best-selling Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian (published in the USA by W.W. Norton), and starring Oscar winner and gossip-column favorite Russell Crowe, it is set to be a summer blockbuster. Men o' War provides the background to the story, with detail of what life was really like for sailors and officers alike, serving on board the Royal Navy's warships in the early years of the nineteenth century. Published in conjunction with the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, one of the world's finest Naval museums, this detailed exploration into life on board the English warships captures the drama, hardships, discipline, and danger of sailing into battle as we approach the bicentennial of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in 1805. Including information on the French and Spanish navies, and an outline of Nelson's career and main battles, Men o'War is a complete account of the real world behind the fiction.