Hornblower Saga: Chronological Order #9
Commodore Hornblower
C.S. Forester
The book begins with Sir Horatio already married to Lady Barbara and the redoubtable Mr. Brown his manservant. His infant son has two Wellesleys as Godfathers-his wife their sister. Richard Arthur Horatio.
Hornblower sets off for the Baltic as Commodore of a fleet with Bush as Captain of his flag ship. His escapades continue and include a meeting with the Tsar of Russia. Feeding him weevily ship's biscuits sounds a mite extreme. He wanted to learn about life on a British Man of War.
Since French has been the language of court in many countries it's amusing that Russia, at war with France does so using French. Hornblower is tone deaf. His job is in part tedious diplomacy which sees him sitting through a ballet while the sound of heavy artillery vibrates outside.
History records what happened when Boney's half-million man army reached Moscow only to see it burn. Starving men and horses retreated in the teeth of a Russian Winter. In Riga the battle becomes a fifth column affair when 5000 Spanish forced recruits desert and are offered transport back home. In the affair Hornblower loses a well-beloved and highly capable young captain. It is a tribute to the author's ability that we feel that loss.
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