In Which Order Should You Read The Hornblower Novels?
Saturday January 1, 2005
Unless you're unlucky enough to be trapped somewhere with just one book, newcomers to Hornblower are faced with a key decision: to read the books in the order Forester wrote them, or in the order of their internal chronology...
Comments
I first came across the Hornblower series on TV. Never heard of the books. So, pretty soon after, I bought the first book bundeling Midshipman, Lieutenant and Hotspur. Immediately after, I bought all of the other books and read them (in the following 2 weeks) in the chronological order displayed on the back. It was marvelous. Currently, I’m re-reading them at a slower pace — and in the order as they were written.
By the way. At first, I was disappointed about the first book, which told the same story as the mini-series. Then I realised that the books are far more realistic — and therefore less spectacular. In the mean time I have come to appreciate the book more than the series which over-simplifies and obviously lacks the thoughts of the main character which are so important.
Hornblower is an absolute “must-read”
I have been watching the hornblower series on tv and I also own the boxset aswell.
I am aware of the books and I am grateful for finding your comment here that tells me the order in which they where written and in which to read them so I have a choice once I have gone and perchased them as I would like to know what happens after the tv series ends.