by C.S. Forester
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Product Description
Another exciting addition to our growing collection of sea stories, BEAT TO QUARTERS is a favorite among devotees of Horatio Hornblower, England's most durable sailor. The creation of C.S. Forester (AFRICAN QUEEN, THE GOOD SHEPHERD), Hornblower is known and admired throughout the Western world. Winston Churchill was a notable enthusiast; he mentioned Hornblower in his WW II memoirs. In BEAT TO QUARTERS, a still young Hornblower is captain of the 36-gun frigate Lydia. He sets his course for Spain and Nicaragua in his ongoing quest to cut Napoleon's lines wherever he crosses them.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 The best Hornblower book to start with, 2008-01-18
Although Midshipman Hornblower describes the beginning of Horatio Hornblower's naval career, Beat to Quarters was the first Hornblower book that Forester wrote. As a result, it stands well on its own, and doesn't require any background provided by the other books in the series. It is also a much better book than Midshipman Hornblower. For want of a better comparison, Midshipman Hornblower introduces and describes the character, whereas Beat to Quarters truly develops the character.
Additionally, Beat to Quarters is simply a compelling read. Hornblower begins by sailing his ship to the Pacific coast of Central America, where he is to foment a rebellion against Spain. His mission is complicated by the rapidly changing diplomatic situation in Europe, which causes many plot twists. We are also introduced to an interesting lady, whose presence threatens to complicate Horatio's own domestic tranquility. Throughout, Horatio Hornblower is an intriguing character, and this book is worth reading.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Story Telling AT Its Best, 2007-10-27
The entire series of the Hornblower books are a must read. Forester was able to tell stories that had no boring sections, unlike Master and Commander, a book written of the same period and about the same types of life. This was Forester's first book of the series, but I think it is best to start with the first of the eleven books, all paper back and all done by the same publisher with the same type of cover illustrations. I read the entire series many years ago and found a fair number of inconsistencies based largely on the fact things happened in the books covering Horblower's earlier life that were not considered when Forester started the series. Some still remain, such as Hornblower's ability to speak French. As a younger officer he spoke it well. Later, he knows only a few words. Still, the books are so excellent it is best to overlook the inconsistencies.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 The First Hornblower Adventures, 2007-08-06
I don't get it... why is this book so highly rated?
There must be a lot of nostalgic old folks who read these as kids... Or in light of having read the entire series, have decided to have an unusual opinion in order to sound erudite in matters of Hornblower. Or they could know something which I don't; however, let me respectfully submit that Beat to Quarters is pretty mediocre as action/adventure/historical fiction novels of the 1930's go. The characters seem contrived, the archvillian hopelessly cliche, and the storytelling is painfully explicit. Not to say that I didn't enjoy it, because I did -- the pacing is good, and as forced as it may seem, Forester is trying to create interesting, complex characters, which pays off in the later novels. The writing improves tremendously too, so keep with them if you can.
Righto, the summary. Horatio Hornblower is captain of the frigate Lydia, the sole English ship wandering about the Pacific. Horatio is marked by his reserve and and critical powers which he applies as vigorously to himself as that which surrounds him, but despite all this, he is garrulous, and therefore has a habit of saying "Ha... H'm" in conversation to avoid speaking too much. Lieutenant Bush is loyal, but, as we are told, unimaginative, so it's up to Horatio to come of with all the brilliant plans. He has been sent on a mission to aid in an uprising against the Spanish in Central America, but, as the delegate of a morally disinterested third party, he finds that alliances can be slippery things... There's a bit of romance mixed in with all the sea battles, but since Horatio never quite gets clear of trouble, there's not a dull moment throughout the entire 250 odd pages... That's probably all I can say without giving away the rest of the story -- I recommend Beat to Quarters for anyone who wants a light read and is a fan of seafaring stories of the Napoleonic era.
We have to compare O'Brien and Forester, right? From what I've read of both of them, O'Brien is the better writer, but Forester is a lot more readable. Hornblower doesn't feel as historic, which is partly because Forester didn't do his research quite as throughouly, but also because O'Brien succeeds in creating characters which feel genuinely "foreign". Jack and Stephen are not men of our time to be sure, but this also makes them a lot more difficult to relate to.
Well, there's my two cents. :)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Historical Fiction at Its Best...and a Grand Hero, 2007-02-20
C. S. Forester, Beat to Quarters.
Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander
I've begun reading C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels for the fourth or fifth time and I'm enjoying them almost as much as the first time through. Last year, I read about half of Patrick O'Brian's stunning Aubrey-Maturin sea novels for a second time: they didn't lose a thing in the rereading, they're so good. Both authors knew their subject matter thoroughly -naval battle in the age of sail, the sea campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. Both succeeded admirably in conveying the nature and feel of life at sea in crowded, sometimes ungainly, often elegant wooden sailing vessels that in the heat of battle often became floating coffins for the men who inhabited them. Self-doubting Hornblower and his loyal lieutenant Bush, ebullient Jack Aubrey and his surgeon-spy friend Stephen Maturin are men we easily come to admire, full-fleshed characters. The love stories which form a second melody in many of the books in both series are engrossing; you root for the course of true love, for Hornblower's indomitable Lady Barbara and Jack's virginal and stubbornly maternal Sophie.
There are differences. O'Brian is the more consistently superior writer and you laugh more when you read his books. Forester has the annoying habit of telling the reader about changes (largely naval practices) that occur later than the events described rather than, as does O'Brian, simply letting the details of the narration build up a sense of past times in the reader's mind. But Foresterr doesn't indulge himself often and it's a very minor irritation in a splendid narrative that spreads across how eleven novels.
The ambition of these writers is abashing. How did they keep narrative focus through eleven (in Forester's case) and eighteen (O'Brian's) books? How did they succeed -and succeed they truly did--in creating real characters who mature from book to book and communicate their humanity as well as their heroism to readers of a time two hundred years later? These are exceptional books.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The best boy's adventure book ever, 2006-11-19
This book (often collected with "Ship of the Line" and "Beat to Quarters" as "Captain Horatio Hornblower" is the best "boy's" adventure book ever, the gold standard by which all others are measured. It inspired, among others, O'Brien's Aubrey, Cornwell's Sharpe, Kent's Bolitho, and Weber's Harrington. It works perfectly as a sea story and romance, as the middle class Hornblower, Captain of the Lydia, meets and falls in love with Lady Barbara, the sister to the Duke of Wellington. Along the way he battles enemies of superior force, overcoming them as well as his own inferiority complex. Historical detail is superb and this book, as well as the series as a whole, is a superb introduction to the Napoleonic period, particularly class society in Britain. Forester passed away before he could write to Trafalgar, but Hornblower and the Atropos has a lovely description of Lord Nelson's funeral that I remember vividly 39 years later and used as a guide on a recent trip to London last month.
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