Lieutenant Hornblower
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| Author | C. S. Forester |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Horatio Hornblower |
| Subject(s) | Napoleonic wars |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1952 |
| Media Type | Hardcover & paperback |
Lieutenant Hornblower (published 1952) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester, ISBN 1-85998-976-4. It is the second book in the series chronologically, but the seventh by order of publication.
Hornblower, now 5th lieutenant on HMS Renown, copes with his Captain James Sawyer's paranoid schizophrenia, an incompetent first Lieutenant Buckland, and a Spanish base on Haiti. Also in this book, we are introduced to Lieutenant William Bush, Hornblower's faithful companion and best friend, who starts off as 3rd lieutenant aboard the Renown. The developing friendship between Bush and Hornblower is a major topic of the book. Though he is originally Hornblower's superior by rank, Hornblower's intelligence and energy eventually lead Bush to accept a subordinate position.
The book is unique in the series in being told not from Horatio Hornblower's point of view but rather from Bush's.
Fans of William Bush will be interested to know that Hornblower's assertion that Bush is as "dumb as a dog," are not accurate, and while certainly not academically smart, Bush possesses an intelligence of a more practical kind.
Again, Hornblower's brilliance saves the day and earns him a promotion to commander. However, the Peace of Amiens occurs before Hornblower's promotion can be confirmed. He is reduced to a poor lieutenant earning his living by playing whist for money in the Long Rooms. He lives in a cheap pension where he meets his later first wife Maria (née Mason), the daughter of the landlady.
At the end of the novel, the Peace of Amiens comes to an end. War has not yet begun, but it is imminent. Hornblower's promotion is confirmed and he is appointed commander of a sloop of war.
| Horatio Hornblower novels by C. S. Forester |
|
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower • Lieutenant Hornblower • Hornblower and the Hotspur • Hornblower and the Crisis • Hornblower and the Atropos • The Happy Return (Beat to Quarters) • A Ship of the Line • Flying Colours • The Commodore • Lord Hornblower • Hornblower in the West Indies |
