Hornblower and the Atropos (Hornblower Saga (Paperback))

There appeared to be some disconnects in the novel. Most likely due to the issue of several separate stories in one novel. But the disconnects were more from a miltary technical and logic and development of the tale aspect. The Coronet player said he couldn't play a B flat... Why? that was never developed. The Coronet player in a Hornblower novel... how many folks overlooked that? Neat tongue in cheek.... I still found this a good read and worth the purchase.

The Hornblower series is the best. Atropos fit in and not only great adventure, but a unique look into the history of the period. The canal boat sequence gave a great insight into travel at that period.

my paperback copies were falling apart from rereading over and over again i love all the hornblower serie i also have the dvd and seen the movie with gregory peck historically i think they are great

Mr Midshipman - Lieutenant H and this book are best of the series to me. Afterward the efforts of Hornblower to do his duty to God country and himself are intermixed with his personal flaws. God spare me the drama. Nobody on earth gives a rat's petutty for my feelings or my flaws. Only if I've done what I ought to or not.

In this story Hornblower is ordered to recover a sunken English army payroll from a hostile bay. His ship is small & vulnerable. His crew is obnoxious. His enemies are devious. And his orders require him not to comit acts of war. And here in the last of the great Hornblower novels - he does his duty.

Hereafter Hornblower will continue to do his duty. But we must be annoyed with his own "feelings". I submit that nobody's feelings compare to doing what one ought to do. Up to here Hornblower does what he ought to do. Hereafter he occasionally takes account of his feelings. And I like him less hereafter.

Having complete the O'Brien series I decided that Hornblower needed my attention. I haven't been disappointed. If you enjoy a good maritime novel I encourage your attention to C.S. Forester and the Hornblower Series.

I wanted to get through the entire Hornblower series and did. The tales when he has risen in rank are generally more artificial and less interesting. It's decent reading but certainly not great stuff.

Great story. However full of typo's which was extremely frustrating. Contacted the store which was a complete waste of time. Considering the age of these books and the lack of quality they are very expensive. I would suggest you go to your local secondhand dealer or library

At the end of a long and successful career, Hornblower has command of the British navy in the West Indies. The mighty fleet of yesteryear has become a collection of smaller ships devoted to keeping would be pirates at bay. The gigantic and super expensive ships of the line have no place in the world where Napoleon is safely locked up on a fly speck in the south Atlantic.
Still, Hornblower finds a series of set piece adventures to contend with. And he of course does so.
C. S. Forester brings the familiar hero back once again in the twilight of his career. We still can enjoy his strong will, courage and close mouthed dedication to tradition and honor. But I much prefer the stories of his earlier days against the French.

C.S. Forester spins a number of tales about Hornblower at the end of his career. He commands the much diminished British fleet in the West Indies in the post Napoleonic era. The great monster is locked up on an island in the South Atlantic and the once mighty British fleet in the West Indies has shrunk to a few dozen smaller vessels engaged in pirate suppression and keeping a watchful eye on the vigorous contest for the liberation of the Spanish American colonies. The massive and massively expensive ships of the line are long gone, useless in the new era.
We have the mature Hornblower, still heroic, involved in a series of unrelated adventures. He exhibits his traditional traits of courage, seamanship, dedication to tradition and a bone deep sense of honor. The stories are diverting but no more than that.
I much prefer the high heroics of the seemingly endless struggle against the French that the other Hornblower stories deal with.

I finished the whole series, in chronological order (of Hornblower's career, of course, not the order in which Forester wrote them). It turned out to be a bit of a slog, a forced march. I'd recommend the central trilogy (Beat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, Flying Colours) to anyone, but the rest of the series, the fill-in novels, isn't that great. I liked this book a lot better than Lord Hornblower, but that's not saying much. It is episodic, with five short stories, a similar format to Midshipman Hornblower.

The first story involves Hornblower trying to stop an attempt to free Napoleon from St. Helena. As a Texan, I was fascinated to learn that there briefly was a colony of Napoleonic veterans in Texas. It was at the northeast corner of Galveston Bay, near where the Trinity River drains into the bay (not in Corpus Christi, as in this novel) and it was active for less than a year, in 1818-1819 (not 1820-21, as in this novel). Worst of all, there's no way one frigate-sized ship with 500 troops could have freed Napoleon from St. Helena. Even I knew without having to look it up that there were ships on station around St. Helena. Turns out there was a squadron with two ships-of the line, plus smaller vessels, all commanded by a rear admiral (Hornblower's rank in this novel), plus over 1,000 British troops stationed on shore. In other words, the English took elaborate precautions to prevent just the sort of attempted jailbreak that forms the basis of this story. So the plot as described was doomed to fail, and Hornblower needn't have been overly concerned.

By 1821, the British Navy was actively involved in the suppression of the slave trade, and the second story tells of how Hornblower arranges to sabotage--when both ships are in port in San Juan, Puerto Rico--a slave ship that was faster than his frigate flagship, Clorinda, that he could not otherwise have caught. The third story involves pirates in Jamaica who kidnap Hornblower and his secretary, hoping for an official pardon. Frankly, I felt sorry for the pirates and found this story sad and tedious. The fourth story involves a rich young wool heir from Manchester, Charles Ramsbottom, who has purchased a former Royal Navy brig, and outfitted it as a yacht. He comes to Jamaica and arranges to make mischief while Hornblower has his squadron out on maneuvers for a fortnight.

The final story takes place just as Hornblower's three-year tour of duty as rear admiral in command of the Caribbean Fleet is coming to a close. Lady Barbara has sailed out to Jamaica to sail home with Hornblower. On the way back, they run into a hurricane, and Hornblower's quick thinking saves the day, as usual. This story has a subplot of a 19-year-old cornet player who is likely to be executed for playing a B natural instead of a B flat. Before they leave Jamaica, the cornet player escapes, and is not caught, and you'll know why long, long before Hornblower does. The normally freakishly smart Hornblower does not apprehend what has happened, until he's finally told the truth, after their rescue from their hurricane-stricken ship.

An expert on 19th century maritime matters Forester has created a young, daring hero who has captured enemy ships of the British Empire--as well as the hearts of armchair adventurers. Set during the Napoleonic era when the British Navy was proudly responsible for the protection of their island home, this 4th novel in the HORNBLOWER Series (11 volumes in all, which chronicle the exploits of a lifetime)continues the steady promotion of the headstrong young officer to naval prominence.

This novel opens when the young husband is transporting his little family (wife, toddler son and a baby due soon) down to London via canal boat--an inauspicious beginning for a dashing captain. Eager to be aboard his first command, the ATROPOS, Horatio is frustrated by the pompous delay: to organize a river procession in honor of Lord Nelson's funeral. After narrowly averting the disaster of allowing the hero's casket to sink into the Thames(!)the intrepid protagonist finally treads the deck of his first ship--a modest three-masted frigate. At last he is the master!

Once aboard he has his hands full outfitting the ship for Mediterranean Sea duty, plus drilling his hands to become competent mariners. Despite his Spartan quarters her revels in his newfound authority--until he grapples with three unwelcome guests: a young dispossessed German prince to serve as a new midshipman; a disgruntled self-made but arrogant Baron; and a churlish Scottish Salvage Master--indispensable as it proves--with his three Ceylonese divers. Does this mean that the Admiralty has assigned this boldly reckless man to seek sunken treasure?

On his maiden voyage as Captain, Horatio undertakes a risky salvage expedition (for British silver and gold) from a wreck in the Levant--trying to avoid notice from suspicious and sly Turkish authorities. He also plays a game of cat and mouse with a Spanish fighting ship, but ultimately surrenders his success for diplomatic expediency. Despite the anticlimactic plotting and nebulous ending of this novel, readers will savor the smell of brine and feel the rocking swell of exotic waters, as Horatio faces sudden new challenges just when he is lulled into complacency about his own cleverness. There is always action just waiting over the unsteady horizon for enterprising Horatio Hornblower; this story is a ripsnorter in true swashbuckling fashion!

Hornblower was first introduced to the world in the trilogy consisting of _Beat to Quarters,_ _Ship of the Line,_ and _Flying Colours,_ published in 1937-38 -- and later reissued in a single volume as _Captain Horatio Hornblower,_ my father's copy of which I read in junior high in the `50s, and which made me a lifelong fan of Napoleonic sea adventures. The self-doubting captain was so popular, Forester naturally wrote more about him, both earlier and later in his career, from his midshipman days to his dozing retirement in the 1830s. If you think about it, this isn't necessarily easy to do when you're constrained by the later history you've already outlined, but Forester produced four first-rate novels about the younger Hornblower that show clearly how his personality and professional style developed. This volume is the fourth of those, coming just before _Beat to Quarters._

There are a couple of introductory episodes before Hornblower sets off for the Mediterranean in the smallest three-master of the fleet in the autumn of 1805. First, journeying with his pregnant wife and infant son from Gloucester to Deptford, below London, he travels by passage-boat on the Thames and Severn Canal at the dizzying rate of nine miles per hour. It's a new mode of water travel for him and he's fascinated by the experience, even to the extent of ignoring his domestic duties -- but then one of the boatmen injures himself while drunk and Hornblower takes over the tiller so as not to delay their trip. It's a humbling experience. Then, when he takes command of the tiny ATROPOS, the Admiralty's orders waiting for him put him in charge of making arrangements for the first stage of the state funeral of Admiral Lord Nelson, recently killed at Trafalgar. This is the procession of the body up the river to Whitehall Steps, involving thirty-odd boats and ceremonial barges (the most ungainly vessels ever devised), and the whole nation will be watching. Naturally, it won't come off without a hitch, but Hornblower is a resourceful officer, however much he might castigate himself as a potential failure.

His cruise in the Mediterranean, when he finally reports to Admiral Lord Collingwood off Toulon, takes him to the Levant on a treasure-salvaging expedition and Forester does a good job of leading the reader through the complications of deep-water work in the days before diving suits and dynamite. And there are the Turkish authorities and navy to deal with, too. Later on, ATROPOS will have to deal with a Spanish warship with twice her number of guns (and three times the weight of broadside), but you know Hornblower will manage things, even though he's half-convinced he'll screw everything up.

It's an episodic book, but a naval cruise is episodic by nature. The narrative is absorbing and subtly educational and a great deal of fun. In fact, the only thing missing is the redoubtable Lieut. Bush, whom we got to know in the previous two volumes, and who will play a strong supporting role in all the subsequent ones. I recommend you find a copy of _Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_ and settle in with his whole career chronologically. Even post-O'Brian, this is still arguably the best naval series out there.

Hornblower and the Atropos (1953) is C. S. Forester's fifth Hornblower novel chronologically, eighth by publication. Captain Horatio Hornblower, age 29, takes command of the Atropos, the smallest ship in the navy suitable for a post-captain, but before he can sail for sunken treasure, he has to manage his pregnant wife, coordinate Admiral Nelson's funeral procession, and meet the king.

Hornblower continues to be his own worst enemy - he does not know himself. He continues to be heroic and ingenious, but always ascribes to himself the basest of motives, and he is typically wrong in his self-analysis. It is clear to the reader by now that he genuinely loves his family, but when his ship is found to be unready to sail, he considers all the time he has spent with them "wasted."

Much of this novel follows the pattern that Stan Lee used to make his Spider-Man comics so successful - there's always something. Nothing ever goes smoothly, and problems and complications are added with regularity. At the same time, Hornblower is still larger than life. He could fall down the stairs and capture a French frigate.

Hornblower and the Atropos has more humor and more action than the chronologically preceding books; it is also more episodic. And, for a change, this one ends with some unresolved drama. The character spotlight is shined on Hornblower only - Lieutenant Bush is missed, although he can't reasonably be expected to show up everywhere.

On the whole, Hornblower and the Atropos is an action-packed page-turner, and a solid entry in the Hornblower series.

Although the episodes in Hornblower and the Atropos are tied together with a modest connecting story line, each one could just as easily be an independent short story about Hornblower's experiences on his way to, during, and after his assignment as captain of the Atropos, the smallest three-master in His Majesty's fleet. What positively distinguishes these stories are fascinating details of some of the most advanced technologies in the Britain of 200 years ago. You will learn about the new fresh water canals and tunnels used then to speed shipments of people and fresh market goods, underwater demolition and salvage operations, coordinating naval battles through signaling, repairing ships on station, turning a ship without using the wind, treating gunshot wounds, and how to administer a very detailed operation without use of telephone, telegraph, or radio. The book is well worth reading just for these details.
The book's main disappointment for me is the absence of the redoubtable William Bush who plays such an important an interesting role as Hornblower's foil and partner in most of the novels. I missed Bush. I think you will, too.
As occurs increasingly in the books in the series, Hornblower comes into contact with famous people of the day. Hornblower's success with the Hotspur has won him friends in the Admiralty, and even higher places.
You will enjoy this book much more if you refer to the maps in the Hornblower Companion as you read this book.
Much of the appeal of the Hornblower series is involved in the naval engagements. While this book will make it seem like all of that is going to be missed here, just be patient.
One of the most interesting parts of this book comes when Hornblower uncharacteristically makes a rather large mistake, and has to face up to the fact that he may have no honorable way out. This situation reminds me of the Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk describes how he handled the insoluble problem provided to each cadet at Starfleet Academy. Yes, there is always a way out.
Be curious about all that is around you, and consider how it can be turned to new advantages . . . when you change your assumptions about what is most important!