The Fortune of War characters

Appears from the start

A Royal Navy post-captain bringing the battered Leopard's voyage to an end in the East Indies. The ship is no longer fit for ordinary service, and Jack expects to travel home before taking another command. His professional confidence remains strong, but recent losses, a damaged crew, and the outbreak of war with the United States place him in a changing naval world.

Also known as Dr Maturin

Appears from the start

Jack's friend, surgeon, natural philosopher, and British intelligence agent. He reaches the East Indies after maintaining a deception directed at American intelligence during Leopard's voyage. He still loves Diana Villiers, now in the United States with Johnson, and the new Anglo-American war makes every personal or professional connection there dangerous.

Appears from the start

The British administrator who receives Leopard's survivors in the East Indies. Raffles is intellectually curious, hospitable to Stephen, and attentive to the strategic demands of the region. His station offers the exhausted travellers a brief point of order before their attempted passage home.

First appears in chapter 2

Captain of La Flèche, the Royal Navy frigate that takes Jack and Stephen as passengers toward home. Yorke is a professional contemporary of Jack's and offers them the security of a fast British warship after Leopard's ordeal.

First appears in chapter 3

Captain of HMS Java, which rescues Jack, Stephen, and other survivors at sea. Lambert commands a newly assembled company on a demanding passage and must prepare them for battle when an American heavy frigate appears. He welcomes Jack's experience without surrendering his own authority.

First appears in chapter 5

Captain of USS Constitution, the powerful American frigate that encounters Java. Bainbridge is an experienced enemy commander whose larger, well-trained ship presents a severe test for Java's recently formed crew.

First appears in chapter 9

Sophia Aubrey's cousin and the woman Stephen has loved through years of separation. She is living in Boston under the protection and control of the wealthy American Johnson. Her earlier departure left Stephen wounded, but news that she is near changes his imprisonment from a purely political danger into a deeply personal one.

Also known as Mr Johnson

First appears in chapter 9

A wealthy American intelligence official with whom Diana Villiers has been living. Johnson knows the value of secret papers and networks on both sides of the Atlantic. Once Stephen reaches Boston, Johnson's official interests and possessive connection to Diana make him an immediate threat.

First appears in chapter 8

The young American who followed Louisa Wogan aboard Leopard and helped Stephen during the epidemic. Now in Boston, Herapath remembers both Stephen's medical trust and the complicated intelligence operation surrounding Wogan. His local knowledge makes him one of the few Americans Stephen can approach personally.

First appears in chapter 8

Michael Herapath's prosperous father, established in Boston commerce. He receives the British prisoners with the mixture of private hospitality and public caution required during wartime. His position gives Jack and Stephen access to a respectable household while they remain under American authority.

First appears in chapter 7

A Boston physician involved in Jack's treatment after the Java action. Choate regards the badly injured arm through conventional surgical expectations, while Stephen is determined to preserve it and keep control of his friend's care.

First appears in chapter 14

Captain of HMS Shannon, maintaining a close watch off Boston. Broke has trained his guns and crew with exceptional care and seeks a direct engagement with the American frigate Chesapeake. His ship offers Jack and Stephen a possible return to British protection.

First appears in chapter 14

The American captain newly commanding USS Chesapeake at Boston. Lawrence accepts the prospect of action against Shannon and takes his ship out before a large watching public. He is Jack's professional enemy, though treated as a fellow naval officer rather than a personal adversary.

Appears from the start

Jack's long-serving steward and one of the familiar hands remaining with him after Leopard's ordeal. Killick guards Jack's belongings and complains through each change of ship, but his attachment is unwavering when Jack is wounded and carried into captivity.