Hornblower and the Hotspur
I finished Hotspur last week. Brilliant.
I adored it of course, despite, or more likely because, much of it can be summarised as follows: sail, tack, complain about food, sail, tack, complain about marriage, sail, tack, engage French frigate, repeat :) I loved all the tactical maneuvering and was tempted to pinch some of my daughters toy boats to reconstruct the movements of the Inshore Fleet so I could figure out _exactly_ what Hotspur was up to at any point in time.1
To my mind this is the first book that really gives an insight into the character of Hornblower himself and he's not a very happy bunny is he? The contortions of doubt and self-recrimination he puts himself through are so convoluted they made my head spin. The following passage is typical:
Five fathoms. Four fathoms. If his navigation were faulty they would strike before the
next cast. Aground under the guns of Petit Minou, ruined and destroyed; Hornblower could not restrain himself from clenching his gloved hands and tightening his muscles. Six and a half fathoms. That was what he had calculated upon, but it was a relief, nevertheless - Hornblower felt a small contempt for himself at feeling relieved, at his lack of faith in his own judgement.
There you have it: brilliance, pessimism, affirmation, relief and contempt. All in the space of a couple of fathoms. Ouch!
I'm sure I'm not the first person to find Hornblower's relationship with Maria both tragic and depressing. The poor woman! I genuinely can't decide if Hornblower is being admirably honest by admitting his true feelings for Maria but marrying her anyway or if he is being a complete lying bastard for the same reasons.
As always CSF's writing is brilliantly understated and he punctuates all the angst with deliciously wry humour that made me laugh out loud in places. The analogy of Hornblower mourning his lost integrity like Niobe weeping over her children was so OTT it made me snort. Honourable mention also to the blackcurrent jam tantrum and the "how to keep lobsters alive while planning to storm a battery" angst. However the high point has to be Lieutenant Bush's random acts of interior decorating :)
Bush kind of keeps himself to himself for much of the book although when he does come to the fore he is wonderful. I particularly liked half-cut Bush visiting Hornblower and Maria at the very end and almost letting slip the real story of their involvement flota. In fact I thought that whole incident was really gripping. You just know Hornblower is going to miss out on the prize but you can't help hoping against hope that for once he'll put himself in the right place at the right time.
Of the supporting characters Pellew and Cornwallis really stand out of course. How could they not?! And I felt a real pang of nostalgia when the Indefatigable turned up with a different captain.
Brilliant. From start to finish.
1. Having just watched Art of the Sea I now know that what I actually need is a plotting board of the type Geoff Hunt uses to plan is artworks. His plotting board consisted of a chart, teeny tiny little wooden boats, a compass and a vane indicating wind direction. *Want*
Ok I know I really shouldn't mention this....I couldn't help wondering why is Hornblower so damnably hard on himself? Why all the loathing and self recrimination? Has he got something on his conscience? Or someone? Okay, perhaps I'd better stop there..... ;)
I adored it of course, despite, or more likely because, much of it can be summarised as follows: sail, tack, complain about food, sail, tack, complain about marriage, sail, tack, engage French frigate, repeat :) I loved all the tactical maneuvering and was tempted to pinch some of my daughters toy boats to reconstruct the movements of the Inshore Fleet so I could figure out _exactly_ what Hotspur was up to at any point in time.1
To my mind this is the first book that really gives an insight into the character of Hornblower himself and he's not a very happy bunny is he? The contortions of doubt and self-recrimination he puts himself through are so convoluted they made my head spin. The following passage is typical:
Five fathoms. Four fathoms. If his navigation were faulty they would strike before the
next cast. Aground under the guns of Petit Minou, ruined and destroyed; Hornblower could not restrain himself from clenching his gloved hands and tightening his muscles. Six and a half fathoms. That was what he had calculated upon, but it was a relief, nevertheless - Hornblower felt a small contempt for himself at feeling relieved, at his lack of faith in his own judgement.
There you have it: brilliance, pessimism, affirmation, relief and contempt. All in the space of a couple of fathoms. Ouch!
I'm sure I'm not the first person to find Hornblower's relationship with Maria both tragic and depressing. The poor woman! I genuinely can't decide if Hornblower is being admirably honest by admitting his true feelings for Maria but marrying her anyway or if he is being a complete lying bastard for the same reasons.
As always CSF's writing is brilliantly understated and he punctuates all the angst with deliciously wry humour that made me laugh out loud in places. The analogy of Hornblower mourning his lost integrity like Niobe weeping over her children was so OTT it made me snort. Honourable mention also to the blackcurrent jam tantrum and the "how to keep lobsters alive while planning to storm a battery" angst. However the high point has to be Lieutenant Bush's random acts of interior decorating :)
Bush kind of keeps himself to himself for much of the book although when he does come to the fore he is wonderful. I particularly liked half-cut Bush visiting Hornblower and Maria at the very end and almost letting slip the real story of their involvement flota. In fact I thought that whole incident was really gripping. You just know Hornblower is going to miss out on the prize but you can't help hoping against hope that for once he'll put himself in the right place at the right time.
Of the supporting characters Pellew and Cornwallis really stand out of course. How could they not?! And I felt a real pang of nostalgia when the Indefatigable turned up with a different captain.
Brilliant. From start to finish.
1. Having just watched Art of the Sea I now know that what I actually need is a plotting board of the type Geoff Hunt uses to plan is artworks. His plotting board consisted of a chart, teeny tiny little wooden boats, a compass and a vane indicating wind direction. *Want*
Ok I know I really shouldn't mention this....I couldn't help wondering why is Hornblower so damnably hard on himself? Why all the loathing and self recrimination? Has he got something on his conscience? Or someone? Okay, perhaps I'd better stop there..... ;)