Lieutenant Hornblower
C. S. Forester (1952)
E-book downloaded from the Internet
Hornblower is now a lieutenant in the British navy, aboard the HMS Renown. He meets Lt. Bush who’s his senior, and who’s to be his closest friend and colleague through their long later professional association. Captain Sawyer of the HMS Renown is crazy, and turns crazier as the voyage progresses. Hornblower takes part in a nominal mutiny, during which the captain sustains a mysterious injury, thus disabling him and enabling the First Lt. Buckland to first put the captain in a strait jacket, and then take command of the ship. Hornblower is faintly suspected of causing the injury, but the truth is never known. Hornblower later suggests a plan to capture a fort and a few ships in the port of Santa Domingo, and thus early displays his brilliance. At the later court martial into the entire affair, Hornblower comes out smelling of roses, and is made commander of a ship called the Retribution. But before he is confirmed in his position, peace is declared in the war between England and Spain. Thus Hornblower is relegated to the status of Lt. with no money, not even the half-pay because of some bureaucratic hurdle. He makes a living playing cards, ‘whist’ a game like bridge, with noblemen and admirals, and then when war with France is declared, he is made commander of the ‘Hotspur’. In this period he also gets to know Maria, his landlady’s daughter. Maria falls in love with Hornblower, and though he is conscious that she is not exactly his match, nevertheless he feels a real affection for her and asks her to be his wife.
The novel is written from Bush’s viewpoint, i.e. nothing happens except in his presence. This is the only such novel in the series. All others detail Hornblower’s thoughts, fears, hopes and so on. This change of viewpoint appears to be used by the author almost solely in order to be sufficiently vague and mysterious about how Captain Sawyer of the Renown was incapacitated.
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