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.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World events in no one novel. The author drew from real events in the Napoleonic Wars, as he describes in the introduction to the first novel, "Master and Commander". Many have speculated on which Royal Navy captain matches the fictional character most. The author claims no one real captain was the model for his fictional character. The Royal Navy Museum considers Captain Lord Cochrane as the inspiration for the character in the first novel, "Master and Commander". Taylor, author of a biography of Pellew, puts forth Captain Sir Edward Pellew as one of the inspirations for Aubrey's fictional career and traits.