''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' (published 1962) is a

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, a ...

novel written by C. S. Forester. It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication, and serves as the basis for one of the episodes of the ''

Hornblower Hornblower may refer to: *Hornblower (surname) * Horn (instrument) blower In fiction * Horatio Hornblower, a fictional officer of the British Royal Navy created by C. S. Forester * ''Hornblower'' (TV series), a series of television programmes b ...

'' series of television films.

Plot summary

On 2 April 1802 Hornblower marries Maria, the daughter of his landlady, at the " church of St Thomas à Becket" in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. He is unable to bring himself to be so cruel as to stop the ceremony despite thinking that "Maria was not the right woman to be his wife." Hornblower had, just days before, been promoted commander into HM

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

''Hotspur'' as the fragile

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

is breaking down and Britain is re-arming for a new war with France under

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. His new commander, Admiral

William Cornwallis Admiral of the Red Sir William Cornwallis, (10 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a ...

, permits him a brief honeymoon before ordering him to set sail on a delicate mission. ''Hotspur'' reconnoiters the approaches to the French naval base of Brest, and narrowly avoids capture when, unbeknownst to Hornblower, war is declared. Once the British fleet blockades Brest, Hornblower's restlessness and perfectionism prompts him to lead attacks and landing parties. He defeats a French attempt to break the blockade to send troops to Ireland, the action ending on the morning of 1 January 1804. That same day Maria gives birth to little Hornblower, as Hornblower discovers when the damaged ''Hotspur'' returns to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

for repairs. In spite of his successes Hornblower makes no financial profit from his activities. When Admiral

tries to put him in a position where he can make easy prize money by capturing a large shipment of Spanish gold, he instead takes on a stronger enemy frigate sent to warn the convoy and keeps it from accomplishing its mission. Eventually, by superior seamanship and skill, he drives it away. Hornblower rationalises that this is poetic justice, after he had earlier connived to facilitate the escape of his steward, who was facing hanging for striking a superior officer (a punishment Hornblower could not abide). It later transpires that the ships were claimed by the Government as ( Droits of Admiralty) so that Hornblower would not have profited in any case. (Prize money was only paid to naval officers and men for ships they captured as part of a war, and Britain was not at war with Spain until soon afterwards.) Hornblower is recommended for promotion to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

as one of the final acts of the retiring Commander-in-Chief of the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

, Admiral Cornwallis, a real figure outside of the Hornblower novels.

Editions

* Forester, C. S. (1962). ''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' (1998 ed.). Back Bay Books. .

Historical facts

* The (historical) USS ''Constitution'' resupplied at Cadiz and took on extra crew on 24 October 1803. The (fictional) Hornblower's steward escapes to the ''Constitution'' in Cadiz harbour, though the novel places this just a few days before the action of 5 October 1804.

References

External links

* Fiction set in 1803 1962 British novels British novels adapted into films Hotspur Novels set in the 19th century Prequel novels Michael Joseph books {{1960s-hist-novel-stub