Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World around Cape Horn is taken from the novel "Desolation Island", although the "Acheron" replaced the Dutch 74-gun warship "Waakzaamheid", the "Surprise" replaced the "Leopard", and in the book it is Aubrey who is being pursued around the Cape of Good Hope. The episode in which Aubrey deceives the enemy by means of a raft bearing lanterns is taken from "Master and Commander", and the episode in which Maturin directs the surgery on himself, while gritting his teeth in pain, to remove a bullet is taken from "HMS Surprise". Other incidents in the film come from other books in O'Brian's series.
The Far Side of the World infiltration of British intelligence by the French. Maturin's wife Diana has heard rumours of his pretended infidelity in Valletta, Malta, with Mrs Fielding for intelligence reasons. He sends her a letter via Andrew Wray, unsuspecting of Wray's role as a French agent. Maturin learns of his success in Malta, destroying the French intelligence network based there, all but André Lesueur taken. "Surprise" is not yet to be broken up; Admiral Ives sends Aubrey on a mission to protect British whalers in the Pacific Ocean from the USS "Norfolk", sailing on HMS "Surprise" on his first voyage around Cape Horn. Aubrey