Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

The book is way different from the movie. Love 'em both, of course, Lucky Jack is so cool.

Acheron? Norfolk? I'm a little confused. One's a French privateer, which makes sense given the time period, but an American ship? Somebody explain this to me. Where did O'Brian get that idea?

Peter Weir, the director of the film, melded the plot of The Far Side of the World into a film which similarly melded this title with the name of the first book in the series. In The Far Side of the World, O'Brian's antagonist is the Norfolk, an American privateer. An American ship is used because during the date of this installment, the War of 1812 is in full swing and the British are now fighting the Americans in addition to the French.

As for the inspiration for the Norfolk, O'Brian modeled this off of the historical USS Essex, which was a 32-gun US Navy frigate which cruised through the southeastern Pacific, destroying the British whaling fleet. It was eventually defeated by two British vessels in Valparaiso, Chile.

Weir changed the nationality of the Norfolk and gave her a new name in the film so as not to offend the American movie audiences who would likely have disliked a film in which a British frigate defeats an American one.