Three of Patrick O’Brian’s glorious adventure novels in one ebook for the first time. If you love the Aubrey-Maturin series then you’ll adore these.

These three novels set the way for the Aubrey-Maturin and match the series in their rich detail, adventurous prose and comic nuance that all Patrick O’Brian readers can expect from the master of historical fiction.

The Road to Samarcand finds newly orphaned Derrick thrown into the care of his gruff Uncle Sullivan, the captain of The Wanderer. Captain Sullivan, their cousin the Professor and his new ward set off for Central Asia with their sights set on treasure. Chinese warlords loom and the glint of a priceless piece of Jade send the group up into the mountains of Tibet stalked by something they do not know and cannot name.

The Golden Ocean sees Peter Palafox, son of a poor Irish parson, signing up as a midshipman on Anson's 1740 circumnavigation of the globe, never before having seen a ship. Together with his life-long friend Sean, Peter sets out to seek his fortune, embarking on a journey of danger, disappointment, foreign lands and excitement.

The Unknown Shore sees midshipman Jack Byron and his friend Tobias Barrow, an alarmingly naive surgeon's mate aboard The Wager. The ship is parted from Anson's squadron in the fierce storms off Cape Horn and struggles up the coast of Chile until she hits rocks and sinks. Isolated, the survivors are soon driven to drunkenness, mutiny, and bloodshed. But a handful of men make their way northward under the guidance of a band of Indians, at last finding safety in Valparaiso. This is a saga of survival and Aubrey-Maturin series fans might recognise Jack and Toby as precursors of the famed heroes of the great Aubrey-Maturin series.