Hornblower and the Widow McCool
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| Author | C. S. Forester |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Horatio Hornblower |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Released in | Hornblower and the Crisis |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph, London |
| Media Type | Hardcover & paperback |
| Released | 1967 |
Hornblower and the Widow McCool is a short story by C. S. Forester, featuring his fictional naval hero, Horatio Hornblower.
It is published together with the unfinished novel Hornblower and the Crisis and another short story, The Last Encounter.
The story is set very early in Hornblower's career, in 1799 or 1800, after Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, but before Lieutenant Hornblower.
Hornblower is junior lieutenant in the ship of the line, HMS "Renown". The ship has just captured a French vessel; one of the prisoners is recognised as Irish revolutionary Barry McCool. Hornblower is given the distasteful task by Admiral William Cornwallis, of arranging McCool's execution for desertion from the Royal Navy.
In exchange for a promise by McCool to make no attempt to incite mutiny by a final speech, Hornblower agrees to send McCool's only possession, a carved sea chest, to his widow, along with a covering letter. He is prevented from doing so when Renown has hastily to put to sea.
While at sea, Hornblower discerns a hidden message in McCool's letter, which allows him to discover a secret compartment in the chest, stuffed with currency notes and secret correspondence to other Irish patriots. Hornblower, revolted at the spectacle of McCool's execution, decides to spare other Irishmen from the gallows. He secretly arranges to have the chest thrown overboard.
Later he discovers that McCool actually left no widow, and the chest was intended to reach an Irish revolutionary society. As McCool's letter said, he remained "faithful unto death", to the cause of Irish Independence.
