The Commodore is a seafaring tale and a historical novel closely based on actual events. Seafaring tales constitute a minor subgenre among novels, not numerous enough nor popular enough to rival the mystery or the romance. Nonetheless, some of the greatest writers in the English language have crafted seafaring stories, and the traditional canon of British and American novels features some outstanding examples.

Readers with an inclination towards history might enjoy the novels of a real—life sea commander who sailed and fought during the era of the Napoleonic wars, when the Aubrey/Maturin series is set. Captain Frederick Marryat (17921848) would have been a mere squeaker or a mid could he have sailed with Captain Aubrey; indeed, he served under the man upon whom Aubrey and the other great fictional naval hero, Captain Horatio Hornblower, were patterned. Another sea adventure based on real-life experiences is...