I finished Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies earlier this week. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is placed in the post-Napoleonic Wars British navy, obviously in the West Indies. The images are fantastic, and Hornblower makes a fairly real character, in spite of his silly name. I appreciated that he dislikes his name and was excited to meet Mr. Roundbottom, possibly the only person to have a worse name than himself. I am not sure whether the audio-book was abridged or not, but as it was it seemed like a collection of short stories - Hornblower stopping a coup to release Napoleon from St. Helena, Hornblower trying to capture a slave ship (the British Empire outlawed slavery shortly after American independence and seized any ships on the open seas that were transporting slaves), Hornblower captured by grounded and desperate pirates, and Hornblower, his stint as Admiral and Commander in Chief of His Majesties Navy in the West Indies over, is caught in a hurricane while trying to get home. The stories were good, well worked, and filled with adventure. I find that I still enjoyed what I have read of the Master and Commander books more than these, but I still recommend this to anyone interested in in sailing ships, the British Navy, the West Indies, or Victorian social etiquette.
I am currently listening to Jane Austen's Persuasion, and I will be posting my thoughts on that when I am done. Write on.
R
2 comments:
The parts of this that I caught were interesting. I'm really looking forward to your take on "Persuasion".
E.
I really need to read the Hornblower books. I LOVE that era. (I did my master's thesis on British Romantic travel writing and the unique status of Greece in the literature of that time period.)
Have you ever heard of the Richard Sharpe series, by Bernard Cornwell? I think his books (he's written about 15 of them) are probably a bit like the Hornblower novels, only about a rifleman in Wellington's Peninsular Army fighting against Napoleon. I wouldn't be surprised if Cornwell is following Forester's tradition on purpose with his series.
I recommend these books to just about everybody...but you seem like a more likely convert than most. :)
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