Patrick O'Brian is a pen name of Richard Patrick Russ (1914-2000) who was born in Chalfont St. Peter, Buckinghamshire. The eighth of nine children, he lost his mother at the age of four, and his biographers described a fairly isolated childhood, limited by poverty, with sporadic schooling and long intervals at home with his father and stepmother in Lewes, East Sussex.
His literary career began in his childhood with the publishing of his earliest works, including several short stories and his first novel at age 15. In 1934, he underwent a brief period of pilot training with the Royal Air Force, but this was not successful, and he left the RAF. Prior to that, his application to the Royal Navy had been rejected on health grounds and he worked in London throughout the Second World War though details are murky. He worked as an ambulance driver, and he stated that he worked in intelligence. Dean King has claimed that O'Brian was actively involved in intelligence work and perhaps special operations overseas. After the war he retired to Cwm Croesor, a remote valley in north Wales. In 1949 O'Brian moved to Collioure, a Catalan town in southern France. He spent the winter of 1998–1999 at Trinity College, Dublin and died there in 2000.
His most famous series is about Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. The language used is more authentic than most which makes it harder to read at first but well worth it is a series which closely reflects life at the time. The series formed the basis of the film 'Master and Commander' starring Russell Crowe. Lesser known is the fact he had previously written The Golden Ocean Series which is also historic naval fiction.