An exploration of the complex roles that bodies - both literally and figuratively - play in the 21 volume Aubrey-Maturin novels reveals much about the novels' meditation on the dichotomy of mind and body. The book begins with a consideration of the role of genre norms and the bodies of the novels' main characters. The focus then shifts to considerations of the way the series offers interconnections between the human body and history.

The more literal considerations of the human body examine O'Brian's depictions of drug use, particularly the opium addiction that afflicts Stephen...