Product Description

The Young Hornblower - a truly formidable force in His Majesty's Service The seventeen-year-old Hornblower became notorious as soon as he stepped on board ship - as the midshipman who was seasick in Spithead. But he was soon to gain his sea legs. Amid battle, action and adventure he proves himself time and time again - courageous in danger, resourceful in moments of difficulty and decisive in times of trouble. The reader stands right beside him as he prepares to fight his first duel, feels the heat as he battles to control a blazing ship and shares his horror as he experiences for the first time the panic of the Plague. This omnibus edition contains: Mr Midshipman Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower Hornblower and the 'Hotspur'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13324 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

About the Author
C. S. Forester was born in Cairo in 1899, where his father was stationed as a government official. He studied medicine at Guy's Hospital and, after leaving Guy's without a degree, he turned to writing as a career. His first success was Payment Deferred, a novel written at the age of twenty-four and later dramatized and filmed with Charles Laughton in the leading role. In 1932 Forester was offered a Hollywood contract, and from then until 1939 he spent thirteen weeks of every year in America. On the outbreak of war he entered the Ministry of Information and later he sailed with the Royal Navy to collect the material for The Ship. He made a voyage to the Bering Sea to gather material for a similar book on the United States Navy, and it was during this trip that he was stricken with arteriosclerosis, a disease which left him crippled. However, he continued to write and in the Hornblower novels created the most renowned sailor in contemporary fiction. He died in 1966.

Customer Reviews

One of the best in its genre
I read the Hornblower-novels after I had read all Aubrey & Maturin-novels by Patrick O'Brian and to me the latter are better still, but that doesn't alter the fact that all 3 novels contained in this omnibus ("Mr Midshipman Hornblower", "Lieutenant Hornblower" and "Hornblower and the Hotspur") are cracking good adventure stories, set in an age when Britain ruled the waves and there was plenty of action for any seagoing young man.

Hornblower is perhaps a trifle too perfect (apart from being seasick at times, it sometimes seems the man is simply without fault), and now I think of it that's one of the reasons why ultimately I prefer Aubrey & Maturin, but that's a minor quip and above all should not keep you from buying these splendid books. I enjoyed them immensely!

Action packed all the way!!
It doesn't matter if you're a round the world yaghtsman or an office worker from Croyden, you will love this book! Every second you read it you get sucked further and further into Hornblower's world and you get to a point where you're on the deck of the Indifatigable, can feel the waves and hear the cannons. When starting to read this book make sure you have a week or so to spare, because from the second Hornblower leaves dry land to the end of the voyage, you will be hooked and unable to put the book down for a second. Enjoy!!

Exciting Short Stories about Hornblower's First Voyages
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is the prequel to the Horatio Hornblower series. Written as the sixth book chronologically, it covers the very first times when Hornblower served in His Majesty's navy. My recommendation is that you read it first, so that you can follow Hornblower chronologically along over his career as it develops.

Since much of service aboard a naval vessel is routine, C.S. Forester gives us the high spots of Hornblower's first years in the form of short stories beginning at age 17 when he entered the navy.

Each story is nicely balanced among the following qualities: Hornblower's inexperience; the rapid shift of circumstances that can occur at sea; Hornblower's physical and psychological weaknesses and courage to overcome them; the demands of honor; the importance of thinking clearly, getting good information, and making a swift decision; the benefits of discipline; and the brotherhood of all seaman before the dangers they face.

Those who are interested in the war between Britain and France after the French Revolution in 1789 will find the material to bring those events to life in a vivid way. I learned a lot about the details of naval warfare as it was conducted then.

The weakness of most short story writers is that their plots and resolutions often become overly predictable. These short stories are predictable only in their originality and unpredictability. As such, I found myself drawn forward, wondering what rabbit Forester would next pull out of the hat.

This is just the sort of book that I loved to read as a teenager, and I could feel the years peeling off as I raced through the stories. This book would be a wonderful gift to a teenager who likes adventure tales based on historical events. Readers will be reminded of how embarrassing and emotionally daunting it can be to launch off to operate in the adult world at age 17.

Unlike many adventure books, Hornblower serves the dual role of hero and morally-inspired man. It's too bad that so much modern fiction chooses to develop the action without developing any character in the process.