Patrick O'Brian's "The Unknown Shore" Quiz

Answer: An age difference

The Aubrey/Maturin team of O'Brian's later books is strongly hinted at in "The Unknown Shore". However, in "The Unknown Shore", Jack and Toby are teenagers, rather than adults as are Aubrey and Maturin. Jack Byron was actually also a real person, eventually climbing to the rank of Admiral and becoming the grandfather of the poet Lord Byron.

Answer: Anson

Commodore Anson became an Admiral after the expedition described in the book. Anson was on a mission to disrupt Spanish trade and capture Spanish ships. He did manage to capture a Manila Galleon laden with gold, but the voyage was disastrous due to the major loss of life among the crew: only about a tenth of the men survived. What Anson did manage, however, was a circumnavigation of the globe in the process.

Keppel, later an Admiral himself, is also a character in "The Unknown Shore"; he sailed as a Midshipman on the voyage, and features more in O'Brian's first book in the series, "The Golden Ocean".

Answer: Midshipman

Tobias was going to become a midshipman; he was running away to sea to join his friend Jack after learning of his guardian's marriage to a woman who detested him. However, his incredible knowledge of all things in natural science gained him a position as surgeon's mate. After the surgeon was transferred to a different ship, Toby became the Wager"'s unofficial surgeon.

Answer: Morris, Campbell, and Cozens

Morris was a young boy who soon became friends with Cozens, a big midshipman with a habit of getting into trouble. Campbell was a Scotsman with a depressing habit of thinking everyone was against him. All three disliked Jack at first because he had his own cabin, rather than living in the cockpit with the rest of them; Campbell became friends with Jack and Toby later, however.

These three midshipmen all had different fates...

Answer: One is "turned before the mast"

Morris is "turned before the mast", or disrated from midshipman to seaman, by Captain Cheap partway through the voyage. He becomes part of the "lower decks" and is no longer a warrant officer. He was a troublemaker thanks to Cozens' influence, and we hear no more of him after this event.

Answer: True

When the "Wager" is shipwrecked, unrest spread around the crew. Cozens already harbored mutinous intentions when he demanded more rum for a mate from the Captain. Jack and the rest of the crew heard only a gunshot before they realized what had happened.

Answer: He converts to Catholiscism and moves to Lima

Campbell converts to Catholicism and moves to Lima. He does eventually return to England. Another of the book's real characters, he is also featured in the A&E miniseries "Longitude".

Answer: He writes poetry

Jack writes poetry, which is a hint forward to the real Jack Byron's grandson, Lord Byron. Toby kindly puts up with Jack's recitations, but it is clear that they can be tiring even for him. Jack actually goes to two separate clubs: one for naval officers and one for poets. He tells Toby to never reveal his poetry leaning to his fellows in the Navy.

Answer: 3

Deaths and illnesses among other Captains in the expedition require the "Wager" to change Captains three times, ending with Captain Cheap. Each time a new captain arrives, he changes the Wager's watch routine from two days to three or vice versa, annoying the crew. Captain Cheap is by far the most strict captain of the lot.

Although he survives the voyage, he is a changed man by the end of the book, much gentler and quieter.

Answer: His cousin Georgiana

Georgiana shares Toby's love of natural sciences and keeps his bats for him while he is away at sea. While he and Jack are gone, Isabella is married. When Toby hears of a marriage in the family upon their return, he is worried that it was Georgiana, but is relieved to hear otherwise. The book ends with Toby telling Georgiana to "come and sit by me, and let us talk of bats".