Patrick O'Brian. A Life Revealed. by King, Dean

Henry Holt, NY [c2000; First Edition 2000]. Hard Cover. 397 p., plates (photos), index; 24 cm. "I present a history of Patrick O'Brian, knowing it to be as incomplete as any collection of written words and photographs must be, to be held up for the better understanding of the genius of a complex man, undoubtedly one of the great men of letters of our time, and of his magnum opus, the Aubrey-Maturin novels." "Patrick O'Brian died two months before the publication of this book. His death was veiled in secrecy and mystery, just as his life was. O'Brian did not cooperate in the writing of this biography. In some instances he instructed friends and colleagues not to cooperate. Members of O'Brian's family, including his only surviving child, Richard Russ, were manifoldly helpful in filling out the portrait presented here. For some periods of O'Brian's life, documentary evidence exists... Not infrequently, the written and oral testimony contradicted the sparse, often sinuous autobiographical accounts that O'Brian... reluctantly produced." Selected Bibliography, 367-375. Pictorial dj; fine, gift quality. stock#44931.