# Lord Hornblower > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lord_Hornblower > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lord_Hornblower.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Hornblower > Source revision: 1354740062 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 1946 novel by C. S. Forester This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lord Hornblower" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Lord Hornblower First edition Author C. S. Forester Language English Series Horatio Hornblower Genre Historical novel Publisher Michael Joseph, London Publication date 1946 Publication place United Kingdom Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Pages 224 pp OCLC 16481131 Preceded by The Commodore (Commodore Hornblower) (1945) Followed by Hornblower in the West Indies (1958) Text Lord Hornblower online ***Lord Hornblower*** (published 1946) is a [Horatio Hornblower](/source/Horatio_Hornblower) novel written by [C. S. Forester](/source/C._S._Forester), originally intended to be the last in the series.[1] Hornblower is tasked with suppressing a mutiny on board a Royal Navy ship.[2] He succeeds, and with reinforcements captures Le Havre. There follow several adventures and a disastrous affair in France, with Hornblower's eventual repatriation and reconciliation with his wife. ## Background Forester wrote the final chapter of the novel while on board a U.S. battleship.[1] ## Plot summary In 1814, Hornblower is delegated to deal with the *Flame*, a brig full of mutineers off the French coast, near the mouth of the [Seine](/source/Seine). It is a tricky situation because the mutineers' demands cannot be met, but they have threatened that if a [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy) force tries to force their hand, they will slip into a nearby French port. Hornblower alters the appearance of his own vessel, the *Porta Coeli*, so it can masquerade as the mutinous vessel. As dusk falls, he follows a valuable [blockade runner](/source/Blockade_runner) into port, pretending to be the *Flame*. Then, once the two vessels are moored, he captures it and takes it out to sea. He then pursues the *Flame*, which retreats to the French port. Believing the mutineers responsible, the French send four gunboats to take her. Hornblower manages to exploit the fighting to capture both the *Flame* and a gunboat. Seine River Among the French prisoners is Lebrun, the young and ambitious assistant to the mayor of [Le Havre](/source/Le_Havre). Lebrun asks to speak with Hornblower privately; he proposes to surrender Le Havre to the English fleet. Hornblower and Lebrun arrange a plan: Lebrun's role is to undermine those parties who would resist a British seizure of the city. Overcoming some tense moments with audacity, Hornblower is able to capture the city with a half battalion of [Royal Marines](/source/Royal_Marines) and finds himself its military governor. Hornblower finds his new duties different from that of commanding a naval vessel or squadron. He finds his role demanding, in part because he is such a demanding perfectionist. The [Duke of Angoulême](/source/Louis-Antoine%2C_Duke_of_Angoul%C3%AAme), one of the heirs to the [Bourbon](/source/House_of_Bourbon) dynasty, is sent to assume control of the civil leadership. Hornblower hears that Napoleon has been able to amass a strong force, to be transported by barge down the Seine to retake Le Havre. He sends a force, borne by half a dozen large ship's boats, to try to blow up the barges and ammunition. He puts his best friend, Captain William Bush, in command. The raid is a success and the French force is stopped, but an unexpected explosion kills most of the British, including Bush. Hornblower is raised to the peerage, possibly in part to provide him with more dignity, gravitas, when dealing with the French heir's entourage, as well to reward him for his accomplishments. During the following peace, Hornblower's wife Barbara accompanies her brother, the [Duke of Wellington](/source/Arthur_Wellesley%2C_1st_Duke_of_Wellington), to the [Congress of Vienna](/source/Congress_of_Vienna), leaving Hornblower at loose ends. He decides to visit the Comte de Graçay, where he resumes his relationship with the Comte's widowed daughter-in-law, Marie. When [Napoleon](/source/Napoleon_I_of_France) escapes from [Elba](/source/Elba) and [raises a new army](/source/Hundred_Days), Hornblower, the Comte and Marie lead a guerrilla fight against the Imperial forces. They are eventually defeated, and Marie dies from a leg wound. Hornblower and the Comte are captured and condemned to death, but news of the Emperor's defeat at the [Battle of Waterloo](/source/Battle_of_Waterloo) arrives just in time to save their lives. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Johnson, Melvin M. Jr. (July–August 1950). ["Reviewed Work(s): Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by Cecil S. Forester"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/45359672). *Ordnance*. Vol. 35, no. 181. pp. 64, 66. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [45359672](https://www.jstor.org/stable/45359672). Retrieved 10 May 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["In Brief Review"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/371447). *College English*. **8** (3): 159–162. December 1946. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [371447](https://www.jstor.org/stable/371447). ## External links - [*Lord Hornblower*](https://fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20171204) at [Faded Page](/source/Distributed_Proofreaders_Canada) (Canada) v t e Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester Novels Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower Hornblower and the Hotspur Hornblower and the Crisis Hornblower and the Atropos The Happy Return A Ship of the Line Flying Colours The Commodore Lord Hornblower Hornblower in the West Indies Short stories The Hand of Destiny Hornblower and the Widow McCool The Last Encounter Hornblower's Charitable Offering Hornblower and His Majesty v t e Works by C. S. Forester Hornblower series The Happy Return (1937) A Ship of the Line (1938) Flying Colours (1938) The Commodore (1945) Lord Hornblower (1946) Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (1950) Lieutenant Hornblower (1952) Hornblower and the Atropos (1953) Hornblower in the West Indies (1958) Hornblower and the Hotspur (1962) Hornblower and the Crisis (1967) The Last Encounter (1967) Hornblower and the Widow McCool (1967) Other novels A Pawn Among Kings (1924) Payment Deferred (1926) Love Lies Dreaming (1927) The Wonderful Week (1927) The Shadow of the Hawk (1928) Brown on Resolution (1929) Plain Murder (1930) Death to the French (1932) The Gun (1933) The Peacemaker (1934) The African Queen (1935) The General (1936) To the Indies (1940) The Earthly Paradise (1940) The Captain from Connecticut (1941) The Ship (1943) The Bedchamber Mystery (1944) The Sky and the Forest (1948) Randall and the River of Time (1950) The Good Shepherd (1955) The Last Nine Days of the Bismarck (1959) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lord Hornblower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Hornblower) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Hornblower?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.