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A Ship of the Line

By C.S. Forester
Series: A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
A Ship of the Line by C.S. Forester takes readers on a gripping voyage during the Napoleonic Wars, as Captain Horatio Hornblower commands HMS Sutherland. Under his leadership, the ship faces numerous naval challenges and battles. The story captures Hornblower's strategic brilliance, personal struggles, and evolving relationships with his crew and superiors.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're a fan of high-seas adventure and naval warfare, as it intricately details life aboard a British warship during the Napoleonic Wars. The story, rich in maritime atmosphere and strategic naval battles, will appeal to those who appreciate historical detail and character-driven narratives, particularly with a focus on leadership and courage.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series.

May, 1810 – and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line...

Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy' and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the time Sutherland and her squadron reach the blockaded Catalonian coast every seaman will do his duty. But with daring raids against the French army and navy to be made, it will take all Hornblower's seamanship – and stewardship – to steer a steady course to victory and home...

This is the sixth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower.

Series: A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea

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  • The Happy Return
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series! June, 1808 - off the Coast of Nicaragua, Captain Horatio Hornblower has his hands full... Now in command of HMS Lydia, a thirty-six-gun frigate, Hornblower has instructions to form an alliance against the Spanish colonies with a mad and messianic revolutionary, El Supremo; to find a water route across the...
    By C.S. Forester
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
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    A Ship of the Line
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series. May, 1810 – and thirty-nine-year-old Captain Horatio Hornblower has been handed his first ship of the line... Though the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland is 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy' and a crew shortage means he must recruit two hundred and fifty landlubbers, Hornblower knows that by the...
    By C.S. Forester
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    $2000
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    Hornblower and the Atropos
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series 1805, and Hornblower is both humbled and honoured in quick succession... After a near disaster on board a canal barge, Horatio Hornblower is given his first assignment as Captain, taking charge of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop that will act as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. Soon...
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  • Hornblower and the Crisis
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series. The final Horatio Hornblower story tells of Napoleon's plans to invade England... Set in 1805, Hornblower and the Crisis finds Horatio Hornblower in possession of confidential dispatches from Bonaparte after a vicious hand-to-hand encounter with a French brig. The admiralty rewards Hornblower by sending him on a dangerous espionage mission...
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  • Hornblower in the West Indies
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series. 1815, the Napoleonic Wars are over. Yet peace continues to elude Horatio Hornblower overseas... As an admiral struggling to impose order in the chaotic aftermath of the French wars, Horatio Hornblower, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies, must still face savage pirates, reckless revolutionaries, and...
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    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series 1812 and the fate of Europe lies in the hands of newly appointed Commodore Hornblower... Dispatched to northern waters to protect Britain's Baltic interests, Horatio Hornblower must halt the advance of Napoleon's empire into Sweden and Russia. But first he must battle the terrible Baltic weatherβ€”fog, snow and icebound waterways;...
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    Lord Hornblower
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series. 1813, and Horatio Hornblower is propelled toward the heart of the French Empire and his old enemy, Napoleon. Sir Horatio Hornblower has received strict and highly confidential orders from the highest rankβ€”he must embark upon a grave and perilous mission to recapture the Flame in the Bay of Seine, where...
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  • Lieutenant Hornblower
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series. The nineteenth century dawns and the Napoleonic Wars rage as Horatio Hornblower faces the fury of the French and Spanish fleets combined. Amidst the hissing of wet wads, the stifling heat of white-hot cannonshot and the clamour of a mutinous crew, new Lieutenant Hornblower will need all of his seafaring...
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  • Flying Colours
    Fantastic new B format package for the entire Hornblower series A humiliated and shipless captive of the French, Horatio Hornblower faces execution unless he can escape and make a triumphant return to England. Forced to surrender his ship, HMS Sutherland, after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower is held prisoner in a French fortress. Prospects turn bleaker when...
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  • Mr Midshipman Hornblower
    Hornblower is Hamlet in command of a battleship - New York Times 1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Midshipman Horatio Hornblower receives his first command. As a seventeen-year-old with a touch of sea sickness, young Horatio Hornblower hardly cuts a dash in His Majesty's navy. Yet from the moment he is ordered to board a French merchant ship...
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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781405936910

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 June 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 236g

Pages: 336

Collections

2025 Best Sellers Best Sellers at Book Hero C.S. Forester Father's Day Sale Father's Day Sale: Books Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books New Release Fiction Penguin Books Series: A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea

About the Author

C. S. Forester was born in Cairo in 1899, where his father was stationed as a government official. He studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, and after leaving Guy's without a degree he turned to writing as a career. On the outbreak of war he entered the Ministry of Information and later he sailed with the Royal Navy to collect material for The Ship. He made a voyage to the Bering Sea to gather material for a similar book on the United States Navy, and it was during this trip that he was stricken with arteriosclerosis, a disease which left him crippled. However, he continued to write and in the Hornblower novels created the most renowned sailor in contemporary fiction. He died in 1966.

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