More Jack - and Phillip

If you were puzzled by last Thursday's description of Letter of the Marque, that was because I wasn't reading it but Treason's Harbour. Immediately after I finished it, I did read 'Letter of the Marque' in which Jack and Stephen prepare for a very long trip to South America which doesn't happen although many many other things do.

These books are so very satisfying that I feel no apology for raving about them so positively. Jack Aubrey is a robust goodhumoured hero that faces adversity as well as good fortune. The reader even learns to love his many foibles. His dear friend Stephen Maturin is far less likeable on the surface but he's certainly very clever and, like Dr Worm, interested in things. And they travel all round the world having adventures.

In general, this Easter was a wonderful opportunity to kick back and read too much. I also read half of Donald Johnson's delightful Phantom Islands of the Atlantic about mistakes explorers and cartographers made before any of us knew any better.

I even caught up on my sleep which meant that the past two mornings I've been dreaming very vivid dreams. This morning I woke up completely convinced that Prince Phillip had died of a heart attack. I was very surprised when this wasn't on the news and I asked everyone around me whether it had happened in the past few days or weeks and I'd been too busy to notice. Maybe enough sleep isn't a good idea after all...