Beat to Quarters

Beat to Quarters by C.S. Forester (1937)

Reader's Annotation

Captain Horatio Hornblower of the HMS Lydia is ordered to form an alliance against the Spanish colonial government with an insane Spanish landowner in Nicaragua.

Summary

 Under secret orders from the Admiralty, Captain Horatio Hornblower has sailed his 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia halfway around the world to the Pacific side of Spanish Central America. Because Spain is allied with Napoleon, Hornblower is to foment rebellion against the Spanish colonial government by allying himself with an insane Spanish landowner known to his followers as El Supremo  and to "take, sink, burn, or destroy" the fifty-gun Spanish ship of the line Natividad. Hornblower, through a clever trick, captures the Natividad and reluctantly turns it over to El Supremo. Shortly thereafter, Hornblower receives new orders: because Spain is now allied with Britain against Napoleon, he must once again pursue the Natividad, but this time capturing or destroying her won't be so easy! And to further complicate Hornblower's situation, he must take on a female passenger, the Lady Barbara Wellesley.

Evaluation

This is the first written of the excellent Hornblower novels. Forester provides a wealth of period detail and brings the HMS Lydia and her crew to vivid life. He has a gift for making slow moving sea battles interesting and exciting. Horatio Hornblower is a layered and complex character: imaginative, empathetic, hard-working, introspective, and self-doubting, he makes for a likable and interesting protagonist. And the presence of the Lady Barbara provides a nice extra flavor of romance. For more military fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars, try the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell.

Genres: Adventure, Historical
Subgenres: Historical Adventure, Nautical Adventure, Military Adventure