This must be the fifth or sixth time I have read Hornblower and the Hotspur, but I’ve not read it for at least ten years. I read it again for the sheer pleasure of it, and wasn’t the slightest bit disappointed.
Hornblower is in command of the Hotspur, a Sloop Of War in the blockade of Brest. C.S. Forester constructs an involving and sometimes thrilling tale with very well-drawn characters, a deep understanding of naval warfare in Napoleonic times and a superb portrait of Hornblower himself. He is a brilliant creation, I think, and Forester’s fine psychological portrait of a complex character is what gives these books their real depth to add to his brilliance as a storyteller.
Many of my very well-worn 1970s paperbacks of the series carry an endorsement from Winston Churchill: “I find Hornblower admirable, vastly entertaining.” Well, I’m with Churchill on that one, and this is up there with the best of them. Very warmly recommended.
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