Horatio Hornblower: Difference between revisions

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'''Adaptations:'''

* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043379/ Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.]'' (b&w) (1951). Starring [[Gregory Peck]] in his prime in the titular role. Virginia Mayo played Lady Barbara Wellesley.

* A [[Horatio Hornblower (TV)|TV miniseries]] from 1999 to 2003.

* A [[Horatio Hornblower (TV series)|TV miniseries]] from 1999 to 2003.

'''The inspiration for such modern works as:'''

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* The Hugo and Nebula nominated science fiction work, ''~The Mote In God's Eye~''.

* Science fiction writer A. Bertram Chandler based his John Grimes character on Hornblower, even making Hornblower a distant relative.

* [[~~Honor Harrington (Literature)|~~Honor Harrington]] - A [[Space Opera]] novel series by [[David Weber]] with a female version of Horatio Hornblower. The HH initials are not a coincidence. Author David Weber actually [[Hangs a Lampshade]] on this in the sixth book when he shows the title character reading one of the Hornblower books.

* [[Honor Harrington]] - A [[Space Opera]] novel series by [[David Weber]] with a female version of Horatio Hornblower. The HH initials are not a coincidence. Author David Weber actually [[Hangs a Lampshade]] on this in the sixth book when he shows the title character reading one of the Hornblower books.

* Patrick O'Brian's [[Aubrey-Maturin]] series. Takes place during the same time frame as Horatio Hornblower. Not sci-fi.

** Though, [[David Drake]]'s ''[[~~RCN (Literature)|~~RCN]]'' series, which are Aubrey/female-Maturin [[In Space]], [[Captain Obvious|are sci-fi]].

** Though, [[David Drake]]'s ''[[RCN]]'' series, which are Aubrey/female-Maturin [[In Space]], [[Captain Obvious|are sci-fi]].

* Dudley Pope's Ramage series. It's mentioned that Ramage and Hornblower were junior officers on the same ship for a time (Pope and Forester were friends). Not sci-fi.

* Alexander Kent's Richard Bolitho series. Not sci-fi.

* The ''[[Sharpe]]'' series of novels and TV movies, starring a soldier in the Napoleonic wars, sort of a land-based equivalent of Hornblower.

* The ''~Gaunt's Ghosts~'' series of ''[[Warhammer ~~40 K~~]]'' tie-in novels, being based on ''Sharpe'', are thus in turn based on Hornblower.

* The ''~Gaunt's Ghosts~'' series of ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' tie-in novels, being based on ''Sharpe'', are thus in turn based on Hornblower.

----

=== These stories provide examples of: ===

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** In chronological order, these are books 6-10, 1-2, 5, 11, 3-4.

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Hornblower himself, obviously, [[Foregone Conclusion|makes it to the end of the series.]] There are no guarantees against anyone else being killed or seriously injured.

* [[An Arm and A Leg]]: {{spoiler|During the climax of ''Flying Colours'', Lt. Bush loses a leg.}}

* [[An Arm and a Leg]]: {{spoiler|During the climax of ''Flying Colours'', Lt. Bush loses a leg.}}

* [[Author Existence Failure]]: ''Crisis'' was left unfinished when Forrester died.

* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]

* [[Awesomeness By Analysis]]: This seems to be Hornblower's main method of gambling, seamanship, and war.

** In one incident Hornblower challenges a man known to be a better shot then he to a [[Duel to ~~The~~ Death]] with the understanding that there will be one pistol randomly loaded, neither will know which one and the contestants will choose it unknowing and fight at point blank. Thus giving a fifty-fifty chance (better than his odds, Hornblower figures, than in any fair fight). {{spoiler|Not knowing that the captain, not wanting to lose either midshipman, arranged for ''both'' guns to be left unloaded.}}

** In one incident Hornblower challenges a man known to be a better shot then he to a [[Duel to the Death]] with the understanding that there will be one pistol randomly loaded, neither will know which one and the contestants will choose it unknowing and fight at point blank. Thus giving a fifty-fifty chance (better than his odds, Hornblower figures, than in any fair fight). {{spoiler|Not knowing that the captain, not wanting to lose either midshipman, arranged for ''both'' guns to be left unloaded.}}

* [[Badass]]

** [[Badass Bookworm]]: Hornblower is a seadog who uses math skills and meticulous research.

* [[Badass Army]]: The Royal Navy

* [[Battle Butler]]: Brown was originally Hornblower's Coxswain, became his servant, then became his coxswain again.

* [[Be As Unhelpful As Possible]]: You'd think the, say, Spaniards would give the British Navy all possible assistance when trying to retake crucial military positions. Nope. Heck, everyone outside the British Navy seems slightly or greatly incompetent, and a good deal of the people within.

* [[Be as Unhelpful as Possible]]: You'd think the, say, Spaniards would give the British Navy all possible assistance when trying to retake crucial military positions. Nope. Heck, everyone outside the British Navy seems slightly or greatly incompetent, and a good deal of the people within.

* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: {{spoiler|Flying Colors ends with Hornblower getting everything he's wanted; wealth, fame, prestige, a title, and the way clear to marry Lady Barbara. He starts hating it before the end of the book.}}

* [[Boarding Party]]

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* [[Cliff Hanger]]: The ending of {{spoiler|Flying Colors and Ship of the Line}}.

* [[Conscription]]: The vast majority of seamen on British ships are conscripts [[Press-Ganged|dragged from their homes and family-supporting livelihoods by press gangs]] or criminals given a pardon if they join the King's service. Hornblower presses merchantmen who were supposed to be exempt in ''Ship of the Line'', and he also turns over prisoners he'd promised freedom in ''Flying Colours''.

* [[Death By Childbirth]]: {{spoiler|Maria, with Richard, their third child.}}

* [[Death by Childbirth]]: {{spoiler|Maria, with Richard, their third child.}}

* [[Death of the Hypotenuse]]: {{spoiler|[[Book Ends|Admiral Leighton and Maria Hornblower]]}} die in ''Flying Colours'', and {{spoiler|Marie Ladon}} is killed in ''Lord Hornblower''.

* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: Played with by having the DXMs usually be actual historical events. If the series was an entirely original work, people would doubtless complain about the author pulling them from his unmentionables.

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* [[Dirty Coward]]: Seaman Grimes, from ''Hotspur''. More sad and pathetic than evil, though.

* [[Dramatic Irony]]: Hornblower spends a good portion of ''Commodore'' worrying about Napoleon's unstoppable advance into Russia. Any moderately knowledgeable reader knows {{spoiler|Boney gets his rear handed to him by the Russian winter. Though the Russian Czar basically flipping him and his entire invasion off ("Surrender? Never.") helped too.}}

* [[Dressing As the Enemy]]

* [[Dressing as the Enemy]]

* [[Drink Order]]: Contrary to the [[Spot of Tea|common English stereotype]], Hornblower prefers to drink coffee rather than tea, or at least whatever passes for coffee depending on supplies (in one book, the coffee is described as being made with crushed burnt bread, with enough sugar to mask the taste.) This was possibly because most of the readers of the ''Hornblower'' series were American. Or alternatively, because tea was expensive and Hornblower was poor.

** Some consideration though should also be given to the hypothesis that Forester knew enough history to be very well aware that coffee was enormously fashionable in England for many years, and London in particular was [[wikipedia:Coffeehouse#Coffee in Europe|lousy]] with coffee-houses in the 1700s.

* [[Dropped a Bridge On Him]]: {{spoiler|Bush dies offscreen while leading a raid on a French munitions stockpile, with no foreshadowing for it whatsoever, after having gone through most of the series at Hornblower's side.}} And he's not the only one. Several likeable characters die entirely off-screen. ''[[Justified Trope|Because it's a war.]]''

* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: {{spoiler|Bush dies offscreen while leading a raid on a French munitions stockpile, with no foreshadowing for it whatsoever, after having gone through most of the series at Hornblower's side.}} And he's not the only one. Several likeable characters die entirely off-screen. ''[[Justified Trope|Because it's a war.]]''

* [[Duel to ~~The~~ Death]]: More on the trope page.

* [[Duel to the Death]]: More on the trope page.

* [[During the War]]: Set during the Napoleonic Wars.

* [[Early Installment Weirdness]]: Readers following the series in chronological order rather than publishing order may scratch their heads when the opening paragraph of ''Beat to Quarters'', the first published book, suggests that Lt. Bush has only just gotten to know Captain Hornblower in the last few months.

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** In ''Hotspur'', his ship is being fired upon by shore artillery. He hears noise aloft, and a howitzer shell falls to the deck at his feet. He takes a fraction of an instant to realize that there's about a quarter-inch left on the fuse before he hurries to extinguish it. When he stands up, he sees everyone on the deck staring at him, and realizes he's about to become [[Shrouded in Myth]].

** He has his men dance the hornpipe during a long battle specifically because it will keep morale up. The narration goes on to describe how the battle would become legendary because of it. It also describes how one man kept dancing even after someone's brains were smashed out by a cannon ball and blown onto him.

* [[Good ~~With~~ Numbers]]: Hornblower is ''very'' good with numbers.

* [[Good with Numbers]]: Hornblower is ''very'' good with numbers.

* [[The Gump]]: Inverted. The author deliberately keeps Horatio out of the way of most of the major historical events of the time. One would imagine this gets harder as Hornblower progresses up the ranks, eventually ending up as a Admiral.

** The first Hornblower book written places Captain Hornblower in the Pacific. This was to avoid any mention of the War of 1812 between the British and the USA, which was ongoing in the time period of the book. The stories themselves were written 1937 to 1967. Avoiding any hint of conflict between the RN and the USA was a priority.

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* [[Ho Yay]] - Between Hornblower and Bush.

** In the 1951 movie it seems to be just about every man in the British Navy towards Hornblower, apart from Lady Barbara's husband.

* [[I Just Shot Marvin in ~~The~~ Face]] - There are a handful of gun-handling failures throughout the series. At one point, Hornblower narrowly remembers to put his fllintlock on half-cock before putting it into his belt, which would likely have blown his genitals off.

* [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face]] - There are a handful of gun-handling failures throughout the series. At one point, Hornblower narrowly remembers to put his fllintlock on half-cock before putting it into his belt, which would likely have blown his genitals off.

* [[Improbable Age]] - Inverted, since Hornblower, when the series begins, is improbably OLD to be a beginning midshipsman. He is in his late teens, while his messmates went to sea at age 12 or thereabouts.

* [[Indy Ploy]] - Hornblower has to make plans up as he goes along to get out of the various scrapes he gets into.

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* [[Late Arrival Spoiler]]: The fourth book wasn't completed by Forrester before his death, and has two short stories, from Hornblower's midshipman days and retirement, added to it. This means that if you flip to the wrong page, you now know {{spoiler|Hornblower marries Lady Barbara.}}

* [[The Laws and Customs of War]]: Horatio and his boarding team capture a heavy French frigate in ''An Even Chance'', and use it to sail back to their mother ship, who is currently under attack by three French corvettes with only half of their crew on board to fight back (the other half being part of Hornblower's boarding team). They notice that, as they advance, they are not taken under fire by the corvettes. They wonder why, but then notice that they forgot to take down the French Colours after taking the ship. Horatio orders the flags to stay up, seeing what a great strategic advantage they have, although he knows what a blatant offence it is against the standard customs of fighting of the time<ref>That depends. Sailing under false colours was a [[wikipedia:False colors#Naval warfare|legitimate]] ''ruse de guerre'' The correct colours had to be run up before ''opening fire''.</ref>. Yet his plan works, and they infiltrate the small French fleet unhindered. However it should be noted that [[Your Mileage May Vary]], seeing how the French sailors of the corvettes run onto the open decks to celebrate the arrival of an alleged heavily-armed ally to finish off the British flagship. A wink of an eye later the [[Punch Clock Villain|jubilant French]] are [[Moral Dissonance|blown apart by grapeshot]].

** In ''Flying Colours'', Napoleon wants Hornblower and Bush executed for a similar [[Dressing As the Enemy]] maneuver performed in ''Ship of the Line''. (There were several precedents that said what they did was legal. Napoleon didn't care; he needed a propaganda coup.)

** In ''Flying Colours'', Napoleon wants Hornblower and Bush executed for a similar [[Dressing as the Enemy]] maneuver performed in ''Ship of the Line''. (There were several precedents that said what they did was legal. Napoleon didn't care; he needed a propaganda coup.)

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Inverted. Horatio ''Hornblower'' is absolutely tone-deaf, unable, on at least one occasion, to recognize even "God Save the King".

* [[Mutual Kill]]

* [[Napoleonic Wars]]

* [[Nerves of Steel]]: Hornblower has these.

* [[Never Give the Captain A Straight Answer]]: Inverted. Hornblower doesn't tell his men his plans so it looks better if he succeeds. It works.

* [[Never Give the Captain a Straight Answer]]: Inverted. Hornblower doesn't tell his men his plans so it looks better if he succeeds. It works.

* [[Nicknaming the Enemy]]: Frenchmen are always referred to as Frogs. Napoleon is often called "Boney".

* [[Noble Fugitive]]: The German Prince serving as a [[Plucky Middie]] in Hornblower and the Atropos.

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* [[The Obi-Wan]]: Pellew, though more in the TV series than in the books.

* [[Obnoxious In-Laws]]: Mrs. Mason. "His Nibs," the Marquis Wellesley.

* [[Officer and A Gentleman]]

* [[Officer and a Gentleman]]

* [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]: Hornblower thinks of Bush as having little imagination. ''Lieutenant'' follows Bush instead of Hornblower, and there's a profound lack of Hornblower's usual metaphors and similes, especially when compared to ''Atropos''.

* [[Parental Substitute]]: Inverted. Bush loves Hornblower like a son, even if he's too out-of-touch with his own emotions to realize it.

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* [[Shown Their Work]]

* [[El Spanish-O]]: There are a number of occasions where British sailors and officers gamely attempt to communicate with Spanish, French, or Italian people (either their prisoners, or their erstwhile allies, depending on what is going on) by speaking slowly and adding vowels to the ends of their words. It generally doesn't work.

* [[Squick]]: [[In Universe]], Hornblower has a little bit of this when he cuts a wedding cake with his sword because his sword had cut [[Bloodier and Gorier|other things]] before.

* [[Squick]]: [[In-Universe]], Hornblower has a little bit of this when he cuts a wedding cake with his sword because his sword had cut [[Bloodier and Gorier|other things]] before.

* [[The Strategist]]: Hornblower always comes up with clever schemes.

* [[Tempting Fate]]: Near the end of "Midshipman", {{spoiler|Hornblower attends a banquet where a toast is made to the hope of the Spanish fleet leaving Cadiz. Hornblower is also ordered to convey a Duchess to England in a small sloop. Guess what fleet he sails right into the middle of?}}