The Letter of Marque (Large print, Hardcover, large type edition)

Captain Jack Aubrey has been struck off the list of post-captains for a crime he did not commit. His old friend Stephen Maturin, usually cast as a ship's surgeon to hide his activities on behalf of British intelligence, has bought Aubrey his former ship, the Surprise, to command as a privateer - more politely termed a letter of marque. Together they sail on a desperate mission against the French. It is a mission that, if successful, could redeem Aubrey from the hell of his disgrace.