HMS Crab (fictional Hornblower vessel)

Horatio Hornblower
First appearance	The Happy Return (1937)
Last appearance	The Last Encounter (1967)
Created by	C. S. Forester
Portrayed by	Gregory Peck Michael Redgrave Ioan Gruffudd
Information
Nickname(s)	Horry (by his first spouse)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Naval Officer
Spouse(s)	Maria Mason (†) Lady Barbara Wellesley
Children	Horatio Hornblower (†) Maria Hornblower (†) Richard Hornblower
Nationality	British

Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Napoleonic Wars era Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and radio and television programs.

The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return (U.S. title Beat to Quarters) with the appearance of a junior Royal Navy captain on independent duty on a secret mission to Central America. Later stories filled out his earlier years, starting with an unpromising beginning as a seasick midshipman. As the Napoleonic Wars progress, he gains promotion steadily as a result of his skill and daring, despite his initial poverty and lack of influential friends. After surviving many adventures in a wide variety of locales, he rises to the pinnacle of his profession, promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, knighted as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), and named the 1st Baron Hornblower.

Ernest Hemingway is quoted as saying, "I recommend Forester to everyone literate I know," and Winston Churchill stated, "I find Hornblower admirable."

There are many parallels between Hornblower and real naval officers of the period, notably Admiral Lord Nelson and also Sir George Cockburn, Lord Cochrane, Sir Edward Pellew, Jeremiah Coghlan, Sir James Gordon, Sir William Hoste, and many others. The actions of the Royal Navy at the time, documented in official reports, gave much material for Hornblower's fictional adventures.

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