At the time of his death, Patrick O'Brian was halfway through a novel that continued the famous and much-loved Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series. These final chapters pick up from the point of Aubrey's promotion and orders to sail to South Africa. In a moment of almost perfect felicity, Jack has seen his illegitimate son ably discharging important duties, Sophie and his daughters are with him, and Stephen has a new love. And Jack, at last, is flying a rear-admiral's flag aboard a ship of the line. These final chapters have been combined with the historical background to the Aubrey-Maturin series, a straightforward exploration of daily life in Nelson's navy. What did they eat? What songs did they sing? How did these men end up at sea in the first place? These questions and many more are answered in O'Brian's elegant narrative, which includes wonderful anecdotal material on the battles and commanders that established Britain's naval supremacy.