actual years as 1812a, 1812b (see section above on series chronology). Due to the mental illness of the king, the 53rd year of George III's reign was also the third or fourth year of the Regency, which began in February 1811. The wreck of HMS Diane on an uncharted reef and the subsequent events may be based actual events surrounding the loss of the HMS Alceste. Under command of Capt Murray Maxwell, the ship wrecked on an uncharted reef in the Gaspar Straight in 1817. The crew abandoned the ship and made camp on a nearby island. Murray sent Ambassador Amherst on to Batavia in one of the ship's boats. While awaiting rescue, the crew repulsed an attack by a large group of what sources refer to as "Malay pirates" or "savages". Allusions to other literature Lois Montbertrand published an article concerning O'Brian's use of A. E. Housman's poem "Bells in the Tower" in this novel. She explains how O'Brian uses the fragment of the poem in the plot, as one character wants to get closer to Stephen Maturin, while Stephen Maturin would rather not. Publication history 1989 Collins hardback first UK edition 1991 Collins paperback UK edition 1991, June W W Norton hardback USA edition 1992, August W W Norton paperback USA edition 1995 Recorded Books, LLC Audio cassette USA edition narrated by Patrick Tull 1998, November HarperCollins hardback UK edition 2002, January Thorndike Press hardback USA edition 2003 Chivers Large print hardback UK edition 2004, March Chivers Large Print paperback UK edition 2008, May Blackstone Audio Audio Cassette USA edition narrated by Simon Vance 2011 W W Norton & Company, e-book edition, 2011, The process of reissuing the novels prior to this novel was in full swing in 1991, as the whole series gained a new and wider audience, as Mark Howowitz describes at the time of publication of the fourteenth novel in the series, following The Thirteen Gun Salute. The US reviews were all written in 1991, based on the W. W. Norton re-issue, rather than the prior Collins 1989 first publication of this novel. Master and Commander'' was published in the US in 1969; Horowitz refers to the first UK edition of that novel. Two of my favorite friends are fictitious characters; they live in more than a dozen volumes always near at hand. Their names are Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, and their creator is