Booklog 77/2024: C.S. Forester: Hornblower and the Atropos – Hornblower #5 – Audiobook

[jacey]

It's 1805. Young, eager Horatio Hornblower has been given captaincy of the Atropos, one of his Majesty's smallest ships worthy of a captain, and only carrying 22 guns. She's still fitting out when Hornblower arrives in Portsmouth after a journey from Gloucestershire on a fast canal boat. His wife, Maria, is within days of giving birth to their second child. His first order is to organise Nelson’s funeral procession up the Thames. Then he's sent to join the Mediterranean fleet, so with his new daughter barely hours old, he sets sail. His first officer is a little dull and unimaginative, and he has a European prince on board as a new midshipman. Gradually he sets everything in order. He has to retrieve treasure from Marmeris Bay off the Turkish coast, without alerting the Turkish authorities. It's a difficult and dangerous mission which he completes by the skin of his teeth. After that he rejoins the Mediterranean fleet andengages the Catillia. It's really a collection of short stories strung together, but it hangs together as a novel. Christian Rodska's reading is good, though his first Lieutenant sounds just like Mr Bush in previous novels.

Comments

[watervole]

The description of Nelson's funeral was fascinating. I can see why Forester wanted Hornblower to be involved.

[jacey]

Indeed, especially with the added danger of the funeral barge nearly sinking. Was that a real thing? I should read up on it. This whole book reads like a series of short stories. There's the canal trip, Nelson's funeral, recovering the treasure, and the final bit (which I'm not sure was needed) running down the enemy ship in the Mediterranean.

[watervole]

I think the canal boat section is my favourite. As a canal buff, I really appreciated the detail (none of which I could fault) of travelling on a fly boat in this era.