H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov's Reviews > Mr. Midshipman Hornblower

Probably no author is as famous for his tales of the British Navy and the Napoleonic Wars than C.S. Forester. Most all these historical novels feature Horatio Hornblower in the lead. Mr. Midshipman takes Hornblower from his first naval assignment through his early experiences – from a quiet, shy and often seasick seventeen year old to someone who can get through his ship sinking and being captured by the French. Bit by bit, in the imagination of Forester, he gathers what is necessary to become an effective naval officer.

"Hornblower, hurriedly going through in his mind his recent lessons in boxing the compass. His course to weather Ushant was nor'–east by north, he knew, and the boat close hauled would not lie closer than eight points off the wind—he had lain–to to the sea anchor all night because the wind had been coming from too far north to enable him to steer for England. But now the wind had backed. Eight points from nor'–east by north was nor'–west by west, and the wind was even more westerly than that. Close hauled he could weather Ushant and even have a margin for contingencies, to keep him clear of the lee shore, which the seamanship books and his own common sense told him was so dangerous."

As a prisoner -
""This door in this bulkhead" he continued "leads to the quarters I have set aside for captured officers. Here, as you see, is your cot. Please make yourself at home here. Should this ship go into action—as I trust she will frequently do—the hatches above will be battened down. But except on those occasions you will of course be at liberty to move about the ship at your will. Yet I suppose I had better add that any harebrained attempt on the part of prisoners to interfere with the working or wellbeing of this ship would be deeply resented by the crew."

Fighting his isolation –
"Hornblower remembered the stuffy dark midshipman's berth, the smells and the creakings, the bitter cold nights, turning out in response to the call for all hands, the weevilly bread and the wooden beef, and he yearned for them all, with the sick feeling of hopeless longing."

Doing his best to assume authority -
""Shoot any man who looks dangerous, Matthews" said Hornblower. He was so intent on enforcing his will upon these men, so desperately anxious to retain his liberty, that his face was contracted into a beast–like scowl. No one looking at him could doubt his determination for a moment. He would allow no human life to come between him and his decisions. There was still a third pistol in his belt, and the Frenchmen could guess that if they tried a rush a quarter of them at least would meet their deaths before they overpowered the Englishmen, and the French captain knew he would be the first to die."

Plenty of the naval and nautical details that we want to see –
"Hornblower, jumping for the weather mizzen–shrouds, saw the eager grins on half a dozen faces—battle and the imminent possibility of death were a welcome change from the eternal monotony of the blockade. Up in the mizzen–top he looked over his men. They were uncovering the locks of their muskets and looking to the priming; satisfied with their readiness for action Hornblower turned his attention to the swivel gun. He took the tarpaulin from the breech and the tompion from the muzzle, cast off the lashings which secured it, and saw that the swivel moved freely in the socket and the trunnions freely in the crotch. A jerk of the lanyard showed him that the lock was sparkling well and there was no need for a new flint."

Forester helps us see how Hornblower’s maturational arc begins with age, deportment, and skills. What he also offers are a series of observations on how the British government (and the French to a lesser extent) made decisions during this period. "Hornblower looked back at the darkening coast of France. This was the end of an incident; his country's attempt to overturn the Revolution had met with a bloody repulse. Newspapers in Paris would exult; the Gazette in London would give the incident five cold lines. Clairvoyant, Hornblower could foresee that in a year's time the world would hardly remember the incident."

My favorite story in Mr. Midshipman may be when Midshipman Hornblower attempts to pass the examination for Lieutenant. Full of humor and emotion as well as action. The entire book is entertaining and packed with historical details; this was a very satisfactory beginning.


4.5*

I can't resist including another quotation that shows the depth of description that we receive from Forester: "Winter had come to the Bay of Biscay. With the passing of the Equinox the gales began to increase in violence, adding infinitely to the labours and dangers of the British Navy watching over the coast of France; easterly gales, bitter cold, which the storm–tossed ships had to endure as best they could, when the spray froze on the rigging and the labouring hulls leaked like baskets; westerly gales, when the ships had to claw their way to safety from a lee shore and make a risky compromise between gaining sufficient sea–room and maintaining a position from which they could pounce on any French vessel venturing out of harbour. The storm–tossed ships, we speak about. But those ships were full of storm–tossed men, who week by week and month by month had to endure the continual cold and the continual wet, the salt provisions, the endless toil, the boredom and misery of life in the blockading fleet. Even in the frigates, the eyes and claws of the blockaders, boredom had to be endured, the boredom of long periods with the hatches battened down, with the deck seams above dripping water on the men below, long nights and short days, broken sleep and yet not enough to do."