Dick Adler writing in the "Chicago Tribune" has high praise for this novel, finding it "a pure joy to read-on its own or as part of the glorious whole. It was published in England as "Clarissa Oakes", which probably sounded too Jane Austen-ish to American editorial ears. But it's a perfect title, because the slim and lively girl who stows away on the HMS "Surprise" as it sails from Botany Bay is the real heart of O`Brian's moving and erotic story." Adler feels that Clarissa Oakes' presence "gives O`Brian a chance to explore their and Maturin's characters in exceptional depth." The story has "plenty of action, including a remarkable battle with cannibals in which O`Brian sums up all the horror in one unforgettable image."