Surprise began her life in 1794 as a French ship, under the name of Unité. Captured by HMS Inconstant she was renamed (since the Royal Navy already possessed a ship called Unité, taken just a week previously). Aubrey served on her as a Midshipman, before being presumably promoted to Lieutenant. Later in her career, she was under the command of Captain Edward Hamilton, and the crew of the Surprise under Hamilton succeded in capturing HMS Hermione after her crew mutinied.

Jack Aubrey takes command of the ship in 1805, as he sails her to India, and helps save a whole East India Convoy from a French Squadron. Jack once again takes command of her after he commands HMS Worcester, and he battles two Turkish ships and wins. This action wins promotion to Commander for Thomas Pullings. Jack is worried in later dates about having to take the Surprise back to England, possibly to be broken up, but a new mission was given to him in Gibraltar, and Jack is ordered to take HMS Surprise around Cape Horn in pursuit of an American frigate USS Norfolk, which is harassing British whalers. After a long pursuit, the Surprise finds the Norfolk foundered and wrecked, with her crew shipwrecked ashore. As Jack takes a portion of his crew and Marines ashore to capture the Americans, the Surprise is blown away. Just as a battle is about to break out between the two crews, the Surprise returns, forcing the Americans to surrender. Jack sails her back to England, where she is sold out of service.

Jack's problems and fate of the Surprise intertwine as Jack is accused to stock fraud (due to the actions of a highly placed enemy), and is dismissed from the service. Stephen Maturin buys the Surprise, and allows Jack to use her as a privateer. Jack sets about trying to regain his place on the Navy list, and captures a large French frigate in the process. Jack eventually buys the Surprise from Stephen with his prize money, and once he is put back on the Navy list, he leases her to the Navy, ostensibly as a survey vessel but in fact to carry Stephen to South America for secret dealings with anti-Spanish forces there; a theme which runs from The Thirteen Gun salute to the end of the series. The Surprise is last heard sailing back to England with Jack's dispatche