Patrick OBrians Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely hailed as the greatest series of historical novels ever written. All eighteen books are to be re-issued in hardback by HarperCollins with stunning new jackets.

Uniquely among authors of naval fiction, Patrick OBrian allows his characters to develop with experience. The Jack Aubrey of Treasons Harbour has a record of successes equal to that of the most brilliant of Nelsons band of brothers, and he is no less formidable or decisive in action or strategy. But he is wiser, kinder, gentler too.

Much of the plot of Treasons Harbour depends on intelligence and counter-intelligence, a field in which Aubreys friend Stephen Maturin excels. Through him we get a clearer insight into the life and habits of the sea officers of Nelsons time than we would ever obtain seeing things through their own eyes. There is plenty of action and excitement in this novel, but it is the atmosphere of a Malta crowded with senior officers waiting for news of what the French are up to, and wondering whether the war will end before their turn comes for prize money and for fame, that is here so freshly and vividly conveyed.