Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

310 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 1998 by Little, Brown.

ISBN:
978-0-316-29060-9
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4 stars (2 reviews)

1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Midshipman Horatio Hornblower receives his first command...

As a seventeen-year-old with a touch of seasickness, young Horatio Hornblower hardly cuts a dash in His Majesty's Navy, Yet from the moment he is ordered to board a French merchant ship in the Bay of Biscay and take command of crew and cargo, he proves his seafaring mettle on the waves. With a character-forming duel, several chases and some strange tavern encounters, the young Hornblower is soon forged into a formidable man of the sea.

This is the first of eleven books chronicling the nautical adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable hero, Horatio Hornblower.

13 editions

reviewed Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester (Hornblower)

Sailship fun with nationalism

4 stars

Most of this book is exciting 18th/19th century sailing mechanics with wind strategy, and trying to capture the other ship without destroying it (I enjoyed it!). The cast is (almost) only men. And there are frequent commentaries on how badly organized the other navies/armies are, in comparison to the English ones.

The prose is not the best one I’ve ever read, but it’s easy to read and the chapters are independent episodes, which makes it a good snack.

avatar for PinkFloydian

rated it

4 stars

Subjects

  • Hornblower, Horatio (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.
  • Midshipmen -- Fiction.
  • Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 18th century -- Fiction.