High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Master and Commander is a historical naval novel by English author Patrick O`Brian. First published in 1969 (US) (1970 in UK), it is first in the Aubrey-Maturin series of stories of Captain Jack Aubrey and the naval surgeon Stephen Maturin. Closely based on the historical feats of Lord Cochrane, O`Brian`s novel is set in the Napoleonic Wars.