Lord Hornblower

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Lord Hornblower (published 1946) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester.

In 1814 Hornblower is delegated to deal with the Flame, a sloop full of mutineers off the French coast, near the mouth of the Seine. It is a tricky situation because the mutineers demands cannot be met, but they have threatened that if a Royal Navy force tries to capture their vessel they will slip into a nearby French port.

Hornblowers clever solution leads to the defection of the port of le Havre.

Hornblower's solution to capturing the mutinous vessel is to alter the appearance of his own vessel, the Porta Coeli, masquerading as the mutinous vessel. As dusk falls he follows a valuable blockade runner into port, pretending to be the Flame, then, once the two vessels are moored, he captures the blockade runner, and takes it out to sea. Distrusting the mutineers, the French close their retreat into the port and send four gunboats in pursuit. Hornblower manages to exploit the fighting to capture both the Flame and a gunboat.

Among the French prisones there is Lebrun, the young and ambitious assistant to the mayor of le Havre. Lebrun asks for a brief conversation with Hornblower and propose to surrender Le Havre to the English fleet. Hornblower and Lebrun arrange a plan: Lebrun's role is to undermine those elements who would provide resistance to a British seizure of the city. Although there are some tense moments Hornblower is able to seize the city with a couple of companies of Royal Marines. Hornblower thus finds himself the military governor of occupied le Havre.

Hornblower finds the duties of military governor different from that of commanding a naval vessel or naval squadron. He finds the duties demanding, in part because he is such a demanding perfectionist. The Duke of Angouleme, one of the heirs to the Bourbon dynasty is sent to take control of the civil leadership. Forester portrays him as dim-witted and pompous.

Hornblower hears that Napoleon has been able to allocate a strong force to sail, by barge, down the Seine to retake le Havre. He sends a mission, borne by half a dozen large ship's boats, up the Seine to raid the French force, and try to blow up their barges and ammunition. Since it a large raiding force he puts his best friend and protege Captain William Bush in command. The raid is a success and the French force's transport is destroyed and is incapable of proceeding, but the survivors of his raiding force reported an unexpected explosion. Much of the raiding force is lost, including Bush.

Hornblower is raised to the peerage, possibly in part to provide him with more dignity, gravitas, when dealing with the French heir's entourage, as well as rewarding him for his accomplishments.

During the following peace, Hornblower's wife Barbara accompanies his brother, the Duke of Wellington to Vienna, and Hornblower decides to visit the chateau of the Comte de Gracay, where he resume his relationship with the Comte's daughter-in-law, Marie. When Napoleon returns from Elba and raises a new army, Hornblower, the Comte and Marie lead a guerilla fight against the Imperial forces. Finally they're defeated, and Marie dies from a leg wound; Hornblower and the Comte are captured and condemned to death, but news of the Emperor's defeat at Waterloo arrive and the executions are suspended.

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