Customer Reviews

Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sometimes, I almost wish people wouldn't dig up unfinished pieces. Not because they may be bad, but because they may be so good that it's frustrating and disappointing to have reached the end and realize there's no way it will ever be finished. This is the case with Forester's "Hornblower and the Crisis", unfinished at the time of his death.

Forester had deliberately shied away from writing about Hornblower's role in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar because he didn't want to deal with such a famous battle nor take away from the real heroes of the day - as such, Hornblower's exploits jump from Commander to him being given the command of Nelson's funeral boat after the battle. However, Forester finally decided to reveal the crucial part our hero played in the months leading up to the climatic sea battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

From the first chapter it's obvious Forester had not lost his touch. The prose flows cleanly and elegantly, and I was soon lost in a tale of Hornblower in his prime. A secret mission is handed him, to misdirect the French, so Hornblower prepares to play spy - but then the book ends, with only a few brief notes to say how the story ends. Somehow, this isn't enough - we know Hornblower will emerge victorious and history told us Trafalgar would be a triumph, but I still wish we could have had Forester tell us these things in his own inimitable style.

Two more short tales are packaged with the unifinished novel, as a consolation prize of sorts. These are also top notch, but don't quite take away from the disappointment of what might have been.

The Horatio Hornblower series by C.S. Forester is simply the best naval adventure writing in all of literature. The Hornblower series deals with the career of a fictional British naval officer, Horatio Hornblower, during the Napoleonic Wars, as Britain is engaged in a life-or-death struggle with Bonaparte. The various novels and short stories which comprise the series essentially trace Hornblower's rise from humble midshipman to Admiral of the Fleet.

"Hornblower During the Crisis" is a group of short stories that Forester apparently wrote to fill gaps in Hornblower's life in between the major novels which make up the series. While the novels are in chronological order, there are gaps between several of them. This book completes the most important of these, and also has some interesting little snippets about Hornblower in his old age.

The most important story in "Crisis" deals with the period of time immediately after Hornblower is promoted from Commander to Captain (although not confirmed yet by the Admiralty) and he leaves the HMS Hotspur, which is too small of a command for a Captain. I found this story to be a penetrating and interesting one, which highlights the importance of good luck, and the willingness to take advantage of it by taking risks. As the story states, Hornblower realized, in dealing with high British political and military figures upon returning to England, that his whole life and career perhaps turned on a few remarks he made over the space of a few minutes. Who among us has not had at least one such pivotal moment?

... The other stories in the book are all interesting and worth reading. The Hornblower afficianado should not pass this book up. Newcomers to Hornblower will probably not want to "break in" with Crisis, although I think any reader will appreciate these well-written stories.

This novel picks up with Hornblower relinquishing command of the Hotspur and returning to London for a new command. As typical in a Forester novel, nothing ever goes as planned and action follows Hornblower on his way home from a supply ship. There are only about 150 pages of text in this story and what was missing in the story were what Hornblower did that lead to the eventual decisive Battle of Trafalgar. It was nice to see what Forester wrote anyway only because I like the genre and I like Forester's details and descriptions of being in the Service and living during that time. But this book wouldn't be good on its own.

Or is it? The incomplete story, 'Hornblower During The Crisis' seems to be set just after 'Hornblower And The Hotspur'. The story was never finished and the ONE page of notes at the end DO tell you how the story turns out but doesn't have much in the way of details. It would of been nice to see a dozen pages or so of the author's notes.
The next two stories, 'Hornblower's Temptation'(which seems to be set after 'Lieutenant Hornblower') and 'The Last Encounter', which is the very last tale about him, are both short but complete. They show us a very interesting view of Hornblower's inner thought process when he was young and when he gets old.
So in a way it does end the series, but also shows him during earlier periods of his life.

Let me begin by clarifying what this book is before you purchase it.

The beginning is the first 30-40 percent of a novel that C.S. Forester was working on at his death called, Hornblower During the Crisis. The events take place immediately after Hornblower and the Hotspur.

Next comes a short story (or very brief novella, if you prefer) called "Hornblower's Temptation" which deals with his first posting as a young Lieutenant on the Renown. The action takes place after Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and before Lieutenant Hornblower.

Finally comes another short story (or very brief novella) called "The Last Encounter." It deals with the time during which Hornblower is already a lord and an admiral.

"Hornblower's Temptation" deals with Hornblower's assignment to take control of a prisoner who is being court-martialed for desertion. The story is pretty grim, but contains all of the elements of the better Hornblower stories. A difficult challenge is presented. No obvious solution exists. Hornblower finds a good way out, and overcomes mental and moral hurdles to succeed. I would advise no one to miss this story. It is good background for later stories where Hornblower must find a way to do the right thing without fully disclosing what has taken place.

"Hornblower During the Crisis" has many attractive elements. The story deals with Hornblower's experience in handing over the Hotspur to his replacement after Lord Cornwallis promotes him to Post Captain at the end of Hornblower and the Hotspur. On the way back to England, Hornblower fights as improbable a naval battle as you can imagine, and in an unexpected role. As a result of his quick thinking, important information is developed which he takes to the Admiralty. While there, he helps devise a remarkable scheme for influencing the French. The book ends at that point. You then get 164 words of author's notes on how Mr. Forester planned to finish the novel. The finished parts of the novella are reasonably polished. Forester probably would have added more details to the beginning to make it more interesting and dramatic. The parts in London look like they are fully developed.

If you are like me, the best parts of Hornblower stories are where he has crises of conscience. Hornblower During the Crisis promises just such crises in the 164 words, but does not deliver them. As a result, most people will see this novella as less than a full Hornblower novel. It is too bad, because the concept was a sound one . . . and I would have enjoyed reading the end. I graded down the book accordingly.

As to "The Last Encounter," this story is intended as irony without any testing of Hornblower either intellectually or morally. It is a piece of fluff. Be sure not to read this story until after you have finished the whole series. It contains references to other characters that will spoil your enjoyment from reading the books ahead in the chronology of Hornblower's fictional life.

Should you read this book? If you like Hornblower, I say "yes." I slightly prefer reading it in order to reading it in the end of the series. For me, the right solution was to read all but "The Last Encounter" in chronological order . . . and then reread those sections and read "The Last Encounter" at the end of reading all of the other books.

If this were your last day on earth, what unfinished business should you do today? How would it improve your life and the lives of others if you do that unfinished business anyway? Imagine, for example, how much more rewarded C.S. Forester's readers would be if he had completed a thorough outline of the rest of this story before he died. That would have taken no more than a day . . . and the benefits would have been enormous.

This is genuine Forester and Hornblower, lovely what there is, but a bit out of sorts. First, one of the two short stories appended to this volume, Hornblower's Temptation, should be read immediately following the Mr. Midshipman book (#1). In it we see Hornblower in his first Lieutenancy, solving a mystery.

Second, the main novel here (#4 biographically) is the "final" one left incomplete by Forester's death. Hornblower has left Hotspur on the Brest blockade, but not finally, due to his incompetent successor. After that flurry of action, Hornblower waves to his wife and is off to London to become a Post Captain, but is promised a ship only if his rash espionage plan successfully penetrates Bonaparte's Empire. In the succeeding book 5 (Atropos) there is no allusion to Hornblower's incredible deception of the French set up here (but unwritten). Third, the other short story in this volume, The Last Encounter, as its title implies, might be reserved for reading after the last novel in the Hornblower saga.

The Author's Note published here to forward the unfinished novel--setting Hornblower ashore to deceive the French Navy into its most colossal blunder--is disappointing in its brevity. On the other hand, one infers that Forester must have been in the habit of writing only the sketchiest of outlines and usually wrote from page 1 right through to the end in order. The 9 chapters that were completed are fully formed and polished. Perhaps Forester enjoyed writing his stories the same way we enjoy reading them: inspired from the beginning and no skipping!

Like all the Hornblower books we see our hero in many unconfortable positions, from the Court Martial of his successor to finding himself a junior officer in a battle situation after years of command. Unlike the other Hornblower books we are left with an incomplete story. It seems to me that this drop doesn't change a thing.

Most people who read Hornblower will know their Navel History and will be able to put the pieces together, (on more than one occasion Forester talks about Hornblower's fellow captians putting the pieces together from a brief statement in a report.) and the reader can do it without problem.

The two short stories that follow are both of high quality. (I was very disapointed that we didn't see the story of Barry McCool in the lastest Hornblower movie.) His encounter with McCool and with Napoleon III were both well written and interesting.

Unless you are reading the series in chronological order (don't forget to read the McCool story AFTER Midshipman Hornblower then put it away till you finish Hornlober and the Hotspur) this book should probally be read last. I wouldn't buy this book first, but I wouldn't recommend missing it either.

Hornblower During the Crisis (1967), also known as Hornblower and the Crisis, is the last Hornblower novel C. S. Forester worked on - he died before he finished it. It fits fourth in the chronology. The book also includes two short stories, "Hornblower's Temptation" (also known as "Hornblower and the Widow McCool," and "The Last Encounter."

In Hornblower During the Crisis, Horatio Hornblower, promoted to captain before the age of thirty, is relieved of command of Hotspur and sent back to England. But almost immediately, Hotspur's new captain sinks the ship. Hornblower is called upon to testify at his court martial, after which all the officers travel back to England on a water ship. They encounter a French brigantine, and Hornblower recovers important French documents. He works with the Secretary of the Navy to craft a plan to deliver forged orders to Villeneuve, the French admiral.

In "Hornblower's Temptation," Lieutenant Hornblower, serving on the Renown under Captain Sawyer, is responsible for arranging the execution of a deserter, an Irish revolutionary. In "The Last Encounter," Hornblower, now 72, wealthy, retired and still as self-loathing as ever, is visited by a man claiming to be Napoleon Bonaparte, who insists he needs Hornblower's help to get to Paris immediately. Both stories are entertaining enough, although the chest gimmickry in "Hornblower's Temptation" is a bit much. "The Last Encounter" is noteworthy because it is Forester's final Hornblower chapter.

There are 130-150 pages of Hornblower During the Crisis, depending on how the publisher formats it, which comprises half the novel or less. Where there narrative concludes, there is a one-page summary compiled from Forester's notes. Nothing unexpected happens - Hornblower has a crisis of conscience, his sense of duty prevails, as always, and his mission is a wonderful success, culminating in the Battle of Trafalgar.

There is certainly a lot of potential in Forester's storyline, but all the reader gets is setup. Hornblower in the shady business of espionage is the perfect opportunity for him to wallow in a moral crisis, and Forester was clearly building toward the drama of the constant threat of hideous death for spies, but unfortunately, we never get that far.

Forester once again dangles Hornblower's promotion in front of him, threatening to take it away before it's been confirmed. But Forester has gone to that well already. It doesn't generate any suspense, and it just feels tawdry on Forester's part.

Hornblower During the Crisis is for Hornblower completists - it adds nothing significant to Hornblower's overall story arc. It has its moments, but it can easily be skipped.

There are three rather short stories in this book. The back cover describes the book as following "Hornblower and the Hotspur," and the unfinished first story does, so you probably shouldn't read this book before reading "Hotspur." But the next story is set between "Midshipman Hornblower" and "Lieutenant Hornblower," and the third story is set at the end of the entire series. You don't need to read the whole series first, but the last story won't make sense unless you at least read "Beat to Quarters" first. And nothing in this compilation is necessary for understanding other books. So you shouldn't read it in the sequence listed on the cover, and you may as well save it for last. That said, all three stories are worth reading.

As you know, the main story was unfinished, which is fine. It's an ambitious tale of how an out-of-work commander saves Britain from invasion and deals the French tyrant a mortal blow through luck, skill, luck, cleverness, luck, and derring-do. It ends about halfway through the story, with about a page of notes about how it ends. The half that's finished is entertaining, but does rely a lot on luck. I have trouble imagining the second half being written without relying too much on luck. It's great the way it is.

The next story explores the young Hornblower's character as he must guard a devious prisoner and face financial and professional temptation. The last story shows the peaceful life of an old, successful, wealthy, respected, contented Hornblower interrupted by an entertaining echo of his old enemy.

All told, it's a fun, easy-to-read book for Hornblower fans. But there's nothing wrong with saving it for the end of the series.

I give this book two stars, but in no way am I implying that C.S. Forester deserves two stars for his work. Rather, I give the publisher of the book two stars for giving us half a novel but presenting it as a full entry in the Hornblower saga. I was looking forward to another great Hornblower novel, but found instead the beginnings of a promising story and a few short stories. The whole edition is much shorter than the other Hornblower novels, but costs the same price. I would recommend skipping this book until you have really exhausted the other Hornblower novels already.