A Ship Of The Line
(CS Forester)
?A Ship of the Line? is one of CS Forester?s best works, no small feat considering the competition. It follows the fortunes of Captain Horatio Hornblower as he wars on the French in the Mediterranean, now in command of a proper three-decker battleship, or ship of the line. Set in Napoleonic Europe, this novel is an exciting and convincing account of the sea life and war of the time. The novel begins with the petty worries of a captain on shore; equipping his ship, finding crew members, and trying to avoid embarrassment when his dowdy wife meets the women he secretly loves, the wife of his new Admiral. However, to his great relief, Hornblower is soon swept away from these problems and is at sea, escorting a convoy of rich merchant ships to Gibraltar. However, off the coast of France a gale blows up, and the other escorting ships disappear, leaving Hornblower alone to fight off French pirates eager to snatch one of the merchant ships. Needless to say, Hornblower triumphs through this difficult situation, and arriving in the Mediterranean before the Admiral, makes an agreement with the other captain that has arrived, and sets off northwards alone. He wins a series of engagements along the Spanish and French coast, before returning to the rendezvous. Now all present, the squadron aids Spanish partisans in an attempt on the French held fortress of Rosas, but the land party, under the command of Hornblower finds the Spanish forces to be insufficient, and far less than promised, and when the French make a sortie the attempt is abandoned, and the cannons ashore recovered just in time. The climax of the novel is a thrilling engagement between Hornblower?s one modest battleship, and four French ships of the line, which he is duty bound to stop from passing. With the rest of the squadron just over the horizon he fights an epic battle and the novel ends, to be continued in ?Flying Colours.? This novel is a must-read for fans of historical fiction, war novels, or Napoleonic war enthusiasts, and is highly recommended to anybody else.
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