Customer Reviews

Hornblower and the "Hotspur"

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the third Hornblower novel by way of continuity, following "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower" and "Lieutenent Hornblower" and it is one of the very best Hornblower novels. Horatio Hornblower has been promoted to Commander, and is now captain (not a Post-Captain) of HMS Sloop Hotspur, which is given the important duty of monitoring the French port of Brest. Captain Hornblower and First Lieutenant Bush are now fully developed as characters, and their long association together takes form in this novel. Here, Hornblower is now gaining a reputation as an unusually competent and resourceful officer, as the storied Admiral Cornwallis takes Hornblower under his wing as mentor. Nonetheless, this is a time of great stress and danger for Hornblower. The British Navy is exerting every ounce of Britain's strength against Napoleon, and the British fleet is all that stands between the Corsican tyrant and world domination. Hotspur, commanded by Hornblower, is responsible for monitoring Brest, which is where Napoleon's next move against Britain is expected to first come from. Hornblower is truly "the tip of the spear." This is a great story.

"Hotspur" is one of the key Hornblower novels and I highly recommend it to Hornblower afficianados and anyone who just likes a good novel of the days of "wooden ships and iron men." By the way, it makes for a nice sequence of reading if you follow "Hotspur" with "Hornblower During the Crisis." You'll see why when you read the latter.

The Hornblower novels are in my opinion the best naval adventure series in all of literature and "Hotspur" is one of the very best of the series. What more can one say?

Although Hornblower and the Hotspur is the third installment chronologically in the Hornblower series, it was one of the last written. Paradoxically, perhaps it might have the least harmony with modern readers. Hornblower stands for values that many people have rejected or would at least find quaint. Hornblower and the Hotspur is a first rate naval action story that worked on many levels when it was written. Unfortunately, some of these levels no longer strike a chord with modern readers.

Hornblower and the Hotspur begins with Hornblower's wedding. It is obvious from the beginning that Hornblower did not want to get married. The fearless Hornblower is too soft hearted to break a woman's heart. He realizes that he could have taken advantage of her and left her broken hearted but has married her and made her deliriously happy instead. Unfortunately, most modern readers would not find this chivalry believable. Much has changed since Forester first published this novel nearly 40 years ago. Modern heroes are expected to sleep with the women and then sail away ignoring heartbreak and possible progeny. Many modern readers would see Hornblower as a sap.

For the majority of Hornblower and the Hotspur, Hornblower is at sea. It is 1803 and the brief peace is ending. France and England are set to engage in yet another war. France is amassing a huge army to invade England. The parallels to World War II would have been obvious to the readers of 1962. England has a small army and would be unable to stay free if the huge army from the continent were ever able to cross the English Channel.

Another parallel is in the mention of the soldiers who were drafted to serve a tyrant. Hornblower regrets having to kill Frenchmen in the way that modern Britons would have regretted the necessity of killing Germans in WWII.

A subtext is Hornblower's coming to terms with his family life. Many of the original readers would have been WWII veterans who perhaps married in haste and made the best of raising their "baby-boom" families.

In spite of all this, Hornblower and the Hotspur is about sea chases, broadsides, furious storms and night actions. Forester tells a marvelous sea tale that stands the test of time. It's sad that some its original values have been lost and that some of the parallels are no longer relevant. Hornblower and the Hotspur is too good a story to fade with time.

I read the Hornblower books when I was in my early teens, read them all and than forgot them. Years later, a friend started me on the Patrick O'Brian books. Once again I got caught up in the Royal Navy and the wars with France. When I finished the last volume in November, I thought I would try the Forester books again and what a nice suprise! They were better this time. A lot of the major players (pardon the pun)are of course the same. There seems to be more action in the Hornblower books and I guess because of that the characters do not appear to be as well developed. The details that are such a big part of the Aubrey/Maturin books are not there in the Hornblower books. But after sailing with O'Brian for the last five or six years, I think I know a lot about shipboard life and because of that, it took very little imagination to fill in the parts missing in the Forester books. In all, I really enjoyed Hornblower and look forward to reading more.

"Hornblower and the Hotspur" I found to be the best of the Hornblower prequels. I have yet to read the books from "Beat to Quarters" on. "Hotspur" relates Hornblowers carreer aboard H.M. Sloop-of-War Hotspur, his own prize. Lt. H's daring blockade of Brest takes up most of the story.

If you have enjoyed any of the young Hornblower stories, continue with "Hotspur". If you haven't read any of them, I'd start with "Mr. Midshipman".

I love every volume in the Hornblower series, and purchasedthis audio edition in a bookstore with the anticipation of enjoyingthem again driving around in the car. The audio cassette was well produced and very well read. It was with growing shock, however, that I realized that the parts I loved most had been cut out of this edition: the bare bones of the action remained, but the heart and soul of Hornblower had been snipped away. ...

I encourage everyone to read Hornblower: these books have enriched my life and brought me hours of joy. But I would avoid these audio editions.

Hornblower and the Hotspur is just the sort of book to inspire youngsters to want to do the right thing. The temptations of doing the wrong thing, of looking the other way, or of chasing the golden fleece are all present. You see Commander Hornblower dealing with these temptations, and enjoying the rewards and pains of pursuing the right course. Also, he is often rewarded for taking the time to do his homework (such as his never-ending charting of the coastal inlets in Brittany). Few modern novels create some upright and forthright heroes for young people to model themselves after.

Older fans of C.S. Forester and the Hornblower series will also be rewarded by the fascinating details of how a small sloop can successfully challenge frigates, shore batteries, and even the French army itself! If you are a sailor or have some interest in the subject, you will be richly rewarded by the many fine details that Mr. Forester provides about the special challenges of storms, the European coast, and running a long-term blockade of Europe after the Peace of Amiens breaks down in 1803.

Those who have been waiting for Hornblower to "get a life" will be pleased to see that his attachments to shore, family, and to those nearest to him increase greatly in this book. As a result, he has to think about the consequences more carefully as he faces death . . . and what will happen to others if he fails.

In a fascinating series of "almost asides" Hornblower has great problems with his personal servants in this novel. By novel's end, he has had three of them . . . each of whom has presented him with great challenges and frustrations. These scenes help establish Hornblower's lack of priority for personal comfort, and the vulnerability that can be created for you if those close to you fail to do their duties.

To me, the most rewarding part of the book came in the many sections that explored what it means to be courageous. Hornblower certainly doesn't see himself that way. In fact, in some cases he merely sees himself as having noticed the problem and having acted faster than others. In other cases, his physical weaknesses (including a propensity to seasickness) make his duty difficult. He gives himself no credit for soldiering on under the circumstances, but rather feels inferior for his vulnerability. An unfortunate incident leaves him in a quandary about whether to do his duty "by the book" or to deal with the situation with compassion. Although he unswervingly follows his compassion, he constantly upbraids himself for having done so. The message seems to be that courage is overcoming your obstacles and limitations, regardless of the price, but is not something that one should rejoice in. The term "stiff upper lip" kept coming to mind as I read this novel.

The ultimate appeal of Hornblower is that he is a slightly brighter, more determined version of "everyone" out there who ever wanted to do the right thing, make a way in the world, and build a rewarding life. His weaknesses, foibles, and doubts simply serve to make his concerns and himself real to all of us who read about him . . . and secretly yearn to keep the French bottled up in Brest by our outstanding seamanship.

If the Star Trek holodecks were really available, I'd like to create a program to be Hornblower on the Hotspur (as long as I didn't have to suffer too much from seasickness). I would certainly want to have the trustworthy Mr. Bush (from the novel) along side me.

After you finish the book, I suggest that you think of Hornblower's experiences as a metaphor for making the right choices in a career and personal life. What challenges have you found that are similar to those that Hornblower dealt with in this book? How do you think that Hornblower would have responded to these challenges? What can you learn from these "thought experiments" that could help you in the future?

When choosing among life's routes, be sure to consider the stern, rocky paths for the rewarding challenges they provide!

C. S. Forester is best known for the series of novels about Horatio Hornblower, although he wrote many other good novels. I consider this novel as the best in the Hornblower series, and it is the one that I have best remembered over the years.

I have always advised friends to include incidental skills in their resumes, even if they have no direct relationship to the job (who knows, a company may be looking for a shortstop for its softball team). In Hornblower's case, he was an expert whist player. As an unemployed Royal Navy lieutenant, struggling to survive, his skill at whist puts him in the right place at the right time, and he receives command of the Hotspur.

Forester never presents Hornblower as a Superman. He has mathematical skills, is a good navigator, and has the courage to go forward to carry out assigned missions. He also has the intelligence to see opportunities for action. On the other side of the coin, he gets seasick, is tone deaf, speaks French with a horrible accent, has no particular luck with women (marrying a plain, lower class woman he feels some obligation to), and has no useful family connections.

In command of the Hotspur, he is inshore close to the enemy. He becomes involved in various successful actions, but rewards tend to go to others. He receives little prize money and leads a frugal life style. When he acquires a new steward, he must inform him that his "cabin stores" are limited to some lobsters taken from a French fishing boat.

Hornblower does have the good luck to survive, often the main criteria for advancement in the Royal Navy. He also is well regarded by senior officers, which could be a path to promotion.

This is my favorite of the Hornblower series. Fast paced and full of action. If you liked the first two, definately continue on with this one.

1803, the Peace of Amiens is breaking down, the French navy is building ships and Napoleon is massing a army for a jump across the Channel. Hornblower, along with thousands of other officers and sailors, return to the Royal Navy. He is named Commander, given a sloop of war and a first rate crew. The book is full of action, both on land and on the sea. It also has French fish, Spanish gold and Hornblower's new bride. You may find yourself, as I do, wondering how somebody who acts so brave out of need one second, can be so paranoid or spineless the next, but this is what makes Hornblower seem so human to me. Even his greatest flaw, marrying a woman he has no true love for, makes him as human as you can make a character out of a book. Hornblower is no sword swinging, hard-drinking, God's-gift-to-women character. No, Hornblower is just a seasick, I-hope-my-pants-are-on-right, I-better-write-to-my-wife character.

This novel was written after 'Beat To Quarters', but chronogically takes place before.

This was my favorite in the series. A landlubber all my life, Mr. Forester's writing brings the seaman's life to vivid imagery.

Hornblower is in command of the Hotspur and for part of the story is autonomous on the seas, indulging in his spirit of adventure. Every sea battle is unique. It's during the time of the Napleonic war from the British point of view.

I've read this novel a few times. Even knowing what happens next, once I start reading I can hardly put it down.

Great GREAT book.