- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; Film & TV Tie-in ed edition (24 Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140270256
- ISBN-13: 978-0140270259
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.9 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 254,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
Meet the quiet, gawky, strangely impressive young man, newly commissioned into Nelson's navy, and sail with him aboard H.M.S. Indefatigable to the Western Atlantic, through a series of dramatic battles and scrapes.
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First Sentence
A JANUARY GALE was roaring up the Channel, blustering loudly, and bearing on its bosom rain squalls whose big drops rattled loudly on the tarpaulin clothing of those among the officers and men whose duties kept them on deck. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
A JANUARY GALE was roaring up the Channel, blustering loudly, and bearing on its bosom rain squalls whose big drops rattled loudly on the tarpaulin clothing of those among the officers and men whose duties kept them on deck. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is the prequel to the Horatio Hornblower series. Written as the sixth book chronologically, it covers the very first times when Hornblower served in His Majestyâs navy. My recommendation is that you read it first, so that you can follow Hornblower chronologically along over his career as it develops.
Since much of service aboard a naval vessel is routine, C.S. Forester gives us the high spots of Hornblowerâs first years in the form of short stories beginning at age 17 when he entered the navy.
Each story is nicely balanced among the following qualities: Hornblowerâs inexperience; the rapid shift of circumstances that can occur at sea; Hornblowerâs physical and psychological weaknesses and courage to overcome them; the demands of honor; the importance of thinking clearly, getting good information, and making a swift decision; the benefits of discipline; and the brotherhood of all seaman before the dangers they face.
Those who are interested in the war between Britain and France after the French Revolution in 1789 will find the material to bring those events to life in a vivid way. I learned a lot about the details of naval warfare as it was conducted then.
The weakness of most short story writers is that their plots and resolutions often become overly predictable. These short stories are predictable only in their originality and unpredictability. As such, I found myself drawn forward, wondering what rabbit Forester would next pull out of the hat.
This is just the sort of book that I loved to read as a teenager, and I could feel the years peeling off as I raced through the stories. This book would be a wonderful gift to a teenager who likes adventure tales based on historical events. Readers will be reminded of how embarrassing and emotionally daunting it can be to launch off to operate in the adult world at age 17.
Unlike many adventure books, Hornblower serves the dual role of hero and morally-inspired man. Itâs too bad that so much modern fiction chooses to develop the action without developing any character in the process.
Format:Audio Cassette
Ioan Gruffudd is the modern face of Hornblower and he sounds great on these audio-books. The problem is that they are heavily abridged and really badly so. I swear there is less than half the actual book in each recording - evenb when you know the story inside out, the heavyhanded editing makes it very difficult to follow the story. They are not worth the money. I won't bother buying the rest of the set. I wouldn't keep them if I was given them for free. And of course, it goes without saying, the extremely expensive fixed postage costs (set by Amazon, not the actual seller) just make the whole deal a very expensive, and disappointing rip-off. Unless you are absolutely addicted to Ioan, just don't bother!
Format:Paperback
I found it to be an inspiring book that gives a deep insight into eighteenth century naval life. I especially enjoyed the build up to the duel of honour against midshipman Simpson.
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