Taut as a shroud and filled with sails, cannon, combat, danger, and courage, this is a boy's set of stories through and through. The series began with The Happy Return in 1937 and continued until the author's death in 1966; it covers the entire career of a British Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic Wars, from seasick midshipman to Admiral of the Fleet. While thoroughly accurate in period details, Forester carefully isolates his hero from major historical events (Horatio is always off on a detached command or something similar when a major battle such as the Nile or Trafalgar is fought) but manages to give the flavor of the times nevertheless. Hornblower himself is a mathematical genius and a born commander, a man who dwells endlessly on his faults and does not notice his virtues—the fact that he claws his way up a notoriously favor-ridden navy by sheer pluck, luck, and merit means nothing to him. It is left to his supporting characters to show us just how excellent an officer he is. Forester does this with a deft touch, switching viewpoints and situations between novels to show different sides of his hero’s character—these are not, like many popular series, the same plot dressed up in different details to sell more books.
A comparison with the more recent Aubrey/Maturin Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian, covering the same war and premise, is inevitable and probably beneficial. Between them, Hornblower was the first and slightly more refined series; parents hunting for something for the kids to devour will not have to worry about much explicit mention of unsavory behaviors in Forester. O’Brian, on the other hand, made the brilliant authorial move of giving his captain a companion at sea, which avoids the problem of spending too much time in Hornblower’s morose, self-deprecating thoughts (which quickly get old). He is also more blunt about the sins and horrors of the times, so he skews a bit toward older readership. But readers who enjoy one will probably devour the other—particularly if they come to Hornblower first.
I’ve knocked out four Hornblower novels (The Happy Return, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Lieutenant Hornblower, and Hornblower and the Atropos) this month and have enjoyed each on its own merits; I’m planning to continue to the end of the series as I find time and opportunity. None of them (so far) takes a medal as Forester’s best (that still goes, in my opinion, to The Good Shepherd, his WWII novel) but they are worthy of the time spent nonetheless. If you’re looking for a break from the heavy stuff, Hornblower is a good place to anchor.
