Flying Colours (Hornblower Saga) (Paperback)

by C.S. Forester (Author) "CAPTAIN HORNBLOWER WAS WALKING up and down along that sector of the ramparts of Rosas, delimited by two sentries with loaded muskets, which the commandant..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lady Barbara, Captain Hornblower, Witch of Endor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The seventh volume in the classic naval adventure series, starring Captain Horatio Hornblower.

About the Author
CS Forester is the author of the bestselling HORNBLOWER novels - soon to be a major TV series. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; Revised edition (April 5, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316289396
• ISBN-13: 978-0316289399
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 8 in The Horatio Hornblower Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfectionist Judges Himself Harshly, December 29, 2001

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Flying Colours is the most introspective of the Hornblower novels. For those who want to understand who Hornblower really is, this book is probably the most revealing in the Hornblower series. Unlike the other stories which contain lots of naval action at sea, this book occurs mostly on the land of Spain and France, and the rivers of France. As a result, those who like the Hornblower novels for their battles and action will find this book to be one of the least satisfying in the series.

We all know ourselves best when we face problems. After the many successes in his career, Captain Hornblower ended up in Ship of the Line fighting an impossible battle between his ship, the Sutherland, and four French vessels. Taking horrible casualties, Hornblower struck his colours and surrendered at the end of that book. Flying Colours opens with Hornblower in a Spanish prison, with the expectation that he will be tried and executed for having flown French colours as camouflage to aid an attack. His wife, Maria, is pregnant in England. Hornblower also yearns for Lady Barbara Leighton, the wife of his admiral, whom readers met in Beat to Quarters and saw again in the beginning of Ship of the Line. Hornblower is in despair as he visits the dying and imprisoned sailors who are in the same garrison.

Many troubling questions go through Hornblower's mind. How well will he face death before a firing squad? Will his weak body betray him?

His first lieutenant, William Bush, is also to be tried. At the end of Ship of the Line, Bush lost the lower part of one leg. Will Bush survive the injury and trial?

What will happen to his wife and unborn child after he is dead?

Can he resist sweet temptation, when it is offered?

Can he escape death by firing squad?

Even if he escapes, how can he hope to be exonerated in a court martial for losing the Sutherland? Captains aren't supposed to surrender their vessels, no matter how badly damaged.

If he escapes the court martial, how will he handle being in love with Lady Barbara while being an unhappily married man with a new baby?

Will he ever have a chance to command a vessel again?

Anyone who has ever known self-doubt will find Hornblower's trauma realistic and refreshing. He becomes more like an ordinary person with normal feelings in this book. As a result, I found Hornblower to be much more appealing here than when his brilliant intellect guided him to smooth success in the earlier books.

Eventually, Hornblower finds himself wanting in many of these regards . . . but moves on. Ultimately, he faces new satisfactions and disappointments that indicate to him that his idealistic, perfectionist view of the world is a flawed one. Everyone else is merely human as well. Hornblower is deeply disappointed.

Forester raises an interesting point in the novel. There are real heroes in the book. These people are true to themselves and have total integrity. Public adulation will never be theirs, however. On the other hand, the world needs heroes . . . and new ones will be created, whether or not they deserve the honor. The possibility of remaining a real hero is improved by not having to deal with the issues that can tempt one away from heroism and integrity. So Bush is shown to be a real hero, while Hornblower is simply a self-doubting actor who is extraordinarily capable of creating great results.

The book does a magnificent job of using the title theme throughout. Having struck his colours on the Sutherland, Hornblower now flies his colours again in this book in every sense of that phrase. Watch for the subtleties of how this is done as you read the book.

If you know French, you will enjoy the challenge of imagining how Hornblower manufacturers phrases from his limited command of the language to accomplish what needs to be done. As I read the book, I mentally made the necessary translations.

The book is also interesting for displaying the consequences for the French of being under Napoleon's rule. Hornblower excoriates the Corsican tyrant in the earlier novels, but here we see that others are being squashed underneath authority's boot as well. Many of the social observations about the French people in 1811 are very nicely done in this book.

What is more important: Being fearless or overcoming your weaknesses? What can you do today to overcome your weaknesses and help others to do the same?

May you enjoy the peace that comes with living a life of integrity...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Daring Escape For Hornblower, March 24, 2000

By	Cody Carlson (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

'Flying Colours' is undoubtedly one of the best books in the Hornblower saga. The novel begins with Hornblower a prisoner of the French and soon to stand trial in Paris for piracy. As he and his trusty first mate liuetenant Bush are transported through France they sieze a chance to escape and a thrilling adventure follows. This is the seventh book in the Hornblower saga, picking up right where 'Ship of the Line' left off and setting the stage for 'Lord Hornblower,' arguably the best in the series. Wonderful!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hornblower's Triumph! The tide of luck turns!, January 3, 2004

By	Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In all of the Hornblower books prior to "Flying Colours" Hornblower is a hard luck Captain. Although he generally succeeds in his missions, he does so despite hard luck and bad breaks, by the sheer virtue of his intelligence and determination. Prize money has eluded him for years, he marries poorly, and he is not of high birth. The first several Hornblower novels are the tale of an officer who succeeds in spite of a long run of bad luck and hard circumstances in a merciless and unforgiving service.

In Flying Colors, this all changes, and Hornblower manages to finally capitalize on his achievements and success. This is a satisfying story of a brilliant man overcoming hardship and finally getting the rewards and fame that are justly his. While this novel is not quite in the class of "Beat to Quarters," "Ship of the Line," "Hotspur" and several other of the Hornblower novels, it is nevertheless a well-written and satisfying tale. In this novel, Hornblower's life finally comes together, and even in the class-ridden British Navy, competence finally shines through and our hero gets the rewards due him.

This is a fine novel that anyone will enjoy, and Hornblower afficianados must not miss.