I recently finished reading Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, of the Hornblower saga, by C.S. Forester. It stayed only 3-days on my “In Progress” status on the Jeremy R. Gilby Reading List.

I’ve not read any of Forester’s work, so this was indeed a nice treat.

+++++++++ SPOILERS BELOW +++++++++

Story

The book is essentially 10 short stories about the early life of Horatio Hornblower, from upon his first point of his life in the British Navy, to his field promotion to Acting Lieutenant. It lays the foundation for Horatio’s character, and a launch point for the high adventure for the rest of the series.
The year is 1793, and England is at war with France, Spain recently made Peace with France, and is thus unhappy with England; and this is where we find Horatio, in the Bay of Biscay, and the Mediterranean, during the dawn of the Napoleonic war.

Plot

If you watched the first four movies of the Horatio Hornblower series, all of the plotlines of the movies were found in this book. The Duel (though elaborately extended in the movie), The Fire Ships (these first two are actually a summary of several stories in the book), The Duchess and the Devil, and The Wrong War.
In each of these chapters, Horatio finds himself at odds with a calamity, which he must think or act his way through. Sometimes this ends in failure, other times success; but each time, he is a better person, as he learns from his mistakes.
I found myself at a disadvantage when reading, as I knew the plot lines and their conclusions. So the stories appeared almost anti-climactic for me. However, I would imagine for new readers, this would not be the case.

Characters

• Horatio Hornblower
  The Hero
  Horatio is the central character in every story, in the third person narrative. He starts the book at 17 (old for a new midshipman) and by the end, is 19 years old, and a commissioned Lieutenant. He is quite educated, and learns both Spanish (and some additional French) during his time at sea. He knows his math as well, and learns from the seamen under his command. He is humble, and knows his place, which makes an impression on everyone he meets.
• Captain Sir Edward Pellew
  Captain of the H.M.S. Indefatigable, and mentor to young Hornblower. We see his character in every story except the first chapter, “The Even Chance”. He is a proud captain, and adept in seamanship.
• Midshipman Bracegirdle
  Senior Midshipman on the Indefatigable, and chum to Hornblower. We see him in several stories, and is the only minor character to appear in more then one plotline.
• We also meet the following characters, though not all at once, and only once each:
  • Seaman Mathews
  • Seaman Finch
  • Seaman Styles
  • Seaman Oldroyd
  • Seaman Hether (Though he could be a midshipman)
  • Midshipman Kennedy
  • Master Bowles (He does not appear on the Indefatigable but rather as the Sailing Master of the H.M.S. Justinian, Hornblower’s first assignment.)
  • Captain ‘Dreadnought’ Foster
  • Captain Hammond

Readability

The language took some getting used to, but it was noticeably easier to read than O’Brian’s Master and Commander

Believability

This is one bad note about the novel, it was difficult to get caught up in. The details to somewhat too crisp, to the point they were over-emphasized. This wasn’t too much of a distraction though, but a whole two paragraphs were spent on Hornblower’s chaffed hands.

Timelessness

This book is about late 18th Century Naval Warfare, and it was written in the perspective of 1948, and in 2004 it is still an enjoyable read. That defines timelessness.

Overall

I liked this book, but it wasn’t the best I’ve read. It scores 4 stars out of five.

Though, I DID have a hard time trying to get the Theme Music from the A&E movies out of my head when reading this (and writing this)
*Cues the band* Play My Theme Music!

Next, onto The Teeth of the Tiger by Tom Clancy

Share and Enjoy!