“Lord Hornblower” by C.S. Forester is his 1946 continuation of the adventures of Horatio Hornblower and his rise in the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. In the waning years of Napoleon's reign, Hornblower is assigned a delicate mission: there has been a mutiny aboard a British ship, which is now anchored off the French coast. The mutineers want the captain hung and amnesty for themselves. The navy wants the captain rescued, the mutineers executed, and it has to be kept completely quiet – with the harsh discipline in the navy, one mutiny could lead to a dozen more and endanger the war effort.Hornblower, as always, comes up with a brilliant solution to the problem. There are raids, invasions, high-stakes politics, as he risks his career to accomplish what has to be done. Forester is a master of adventure and naval battles. I can recommend the book for that. There is a problem with the books that I've slowly come aware of.Hornblower is a tool.I give the author of a story a lot of leeway on the actions of his protagonist. Murder? Okay, if you have a license to kill (James Bond). Theft? Tolerable, if you have a code, stick to those who can afford it or are bad guys – and don't try to justify it as being right (the Parker series from Donald Westlake, aka Richard Stark). Adultery? On that, I tend to be straitlaced. Murder in stories is much more common than adultery among the protagonists in fiction. I'll allow bad actions if the character acknowledges that what he's doing is wrong.For example, Thomas Harris' “Hannibal.” Harris tries to make us root for Hannibal Lecter against another evil character – yes, Lecter kills people, but it's for high moral purposes, like improving the local symphony. Oh, and old people, because he needs the money. No matter how evil he makes Hannibal's opponent, I ain't buying it. Hornblower is a snob. Forester may claim his protagonist sympathizes with the sailors he sends to their deaths, but I don't see it. I'm reminded of a quote from the great moral philosopher Daffy Duck: “I'm not like other people, I can't stand pain.” He's snotty to his underlings and views the best of them the way you'd view a good dog. Common British sailors are simple souls and don't understand how sensitive he is. They, of course, are only common clay and can't appreciate the niceties that he understands. That's why he puts them in their place. Hornblower is also childish (he has a tantrum when his wife is offered a highly visible position as hostess at a peace conference) and is willing to put his own desires over others. For example, he has a momentary lapse of judgment and is overcome with passion, going back to his old mistress. The spur-of-the-moment impulse involves packing up and going to France to visit her. He figures his wife will know, but, you know, er, ah, no valid explanation of why it's okay to cheat on her.Napoleon is the root of all evil, a tyrant! That's a given and is repeated to reinforce it. Who knows what evil he gets up to, like flogging and hanging people for legitimate grievances?I think I'd feel better about the character if Forester acknowledged his flaws instead of glorifying them.Four stars for the naval battles.
The war in Europe drawing to a close. After his defeat in the endless Russian plain, Napoleon's empire is crumbling. All of Europe is united against him and the end cannot be that far away. It is against this backdrop that Hornblower, cooling his heels in England, is called back to sea. A ship outside the port city of Le Havre has mutinied against its cruel captain. Hornblower is sent to sort out the mess. Complicating matters, the French in Le Havre have offered the mutineers safe harbor. If Hornblower missteps, the mutineers will turncoat and go over to the French, giving Napoleon a great morale boosting victory against the hated English navy. Fortunately, in a few sharp moves, Hornblower resolves the crisis and retakes the ship. Further, with the French uncertain as to the status of the former mutineers, he sails into the harbor and more or less occupies the city. The French, more worried about the main Russian, Prussian and English armies can do little more than send a minor force to retake the city. Of course, Hornblower defeats them.It is here that, despite being onshore, Hornblower and the story starts to feel adrift. Hornblower serves as military governor of Le Havre. The Bourbons are restored. His wife joins him. They go to Paris where he bumps into his old friend and savior (from a few books back) the Count, and, of course, his daughter-in-law, Marie. Barbara goes to Vienna to serve as hostess for her brother (the Duke of Wellington) to negotiate a peace. Rather than be irrelevant, Hornblower decides to visit the Count. The relationship with Marie is rekindled.And then Napoleon returns to France from Elba. The army abandons the Bourbons and rallies to the once-and-future Emperor. Hornblower is asked by the royal family to organize a resistance, and for the last third of the book he, the Count, Marie, Brown and a band of rag-tag royalists wage a guerrilla war against the French army, tying down troops that could otherwise support Napoleon for the climactic campaign. In the end, Marie is killed, the Count and Hornblower are captured. They are tried, found guilty and sentenced to death. Predictably, the morning of the execution, word arrives of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. The Bourbon's are once again rulers of France and the captives are freed.Three stars out of five. I found the story to be much less focused than the others. The book to me felt as if the author was trying to force Hornblower into historical events rather than having those events fall around Hornblower. It felt like two short stories rather than one larger one. And, on a personal level, I simply prefer the swirl and stench of powder and gun-smoke, the rolling of the waves and the action of ship to ship broadsides and boardings.
What do You think about Lord Hornblower (1989)?
I've been a bit stingy on stars for Hornblower, so I'll give this one four stars. Hornblower is sent to deal with a mutinous ship off the French coast. This is followed by political opportunity, as Napoleon's regime is beginning to falter. Hornblower establishes himself as commander of a coastal French city, laying the groundwork for the return of the royalists. Lady Barbara comes out to join him, and enters uncharted territory for Hornblower's women in actually having ambitions of her own -- well founded ambitions, given her birth and ability. Hornblower responds by sulking and then effectively leaving her for the still adoring Marie. OK, he's a major cad here. But in terms of character development, I thought these were interesting choices -- in keeping with his past treatment of women and his overweening self-regard. Plus, in that era, there was little scope for independent women, so Hornblower's refusal to accompany Barbara to Vienna and play supportive spouse accords with the age. Hornblower is quite liberal for the time in many ways -- in his dislike of corporal punishment, for example -- so I can't argue with Forester making him traditional in this aspect. (Assuming that Forester has any issues with his behavior, that is.)By the way, hurray for Brown and Annette. So nice for a Forester character to sneak off and make independent decisions. I would definitely stay at their hotel in Rome.
—Penny
My local library didn't have Commodore Hornblower, so I had to skip to Lord Hornblower (reading this particular series out of chronological order doesn't seem like such a sin, since that's how it was written). At any rate, I found this installment to be yet another solid entry into the series. I still find the older Hornblower much less likable than the younger Hornblower, and the second half of this book lacked much of the rousing sea action that Forester excels at. However, the first half is top notch, and I found it interesting to see Hornblower's struggles with his high station and his peacetime boredom.
—K.M. Weiland
Interesting takes on the everyday temperament of Hornblower. During 'the Season' in London and squirmy at a celebratory rite of the Order of the Knights of the Bath, of which Horatio is now one, he is trying to talk himself into accepting the social requirements put upon him by his continually exalted position rising through the service gaining honors and the social onus of being husband to Lady Barbara Wellesley now Hornblower, and brother-in-law to the Duke of Wellington ad Wellesley himself. Rescue is not long in coming when he is called away from the service by his superior and sent on a mission to deal with a mutinous ship near Le Havre.This leads our doughty Hornblower into his usual difficult maneuvers to, not only extract the mutinous ship from the possibly forgiving clutches of the French, but to also turn the tide of war with an already disintegrating Empire. Horatio, of course, manages to do the impossible and eventually the war is brought to an end with HH's very considerable help. He finds himself at home once more, but now he is has received knighthood and is a Lord for all his troubles for King and country, and he finds he has little patience for wining and dining with the elite.Foresters attention to Hornblower's mental meandering: the tedium he finds as Barbara's husband when he must remain at home, the irritability he experiences and lets loose when he is bored, unsure of himself or forced into something he doesn't want to do, his sometimes pleasure in setting someone down just for the sake of it, the sudden revival of his passion for Marie de Gracay -- expose Hornblower all too oft as a paper tiger or man with feet of clay. And he must face shattering grief when two of the people he loved most meet their deaths. The closing pages bring Horatio face to face with his biggest fear, and does he care ... ...
—Shari
