Hornblower: Beat to Quarters (Hornblower Saga)

This is one of the excellent audio tapes by Ioan Gruffudd. As the actor who played the part of Hornblower, he is the perfect person to do the reading. On top of that, he reads extremely well with a delightful cut-glass British accent. In this title as a bonus, you can listen to him speak with superb French and Spanish accents. How he rolls his r's! I only wish it were anabridged!

...or, to be more precise, I sat within yards of a major Civil War re-enactment so engrossed in this book that I managed to ignore artillery and musket fire. I am a big fan of the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, but previously looked down my nose at Hornblower, I think because I knew it solely from TV and movies. This book never slows down for a minute--not just battles but ship repair and revictualling seem gripping in the hands of Forester. Based on the films, I was not expecting Hornblower to show much internal life--he always seems to be superhuman on screen, but in the book he must struggle with his softer nature to develop his imperious style. Likewise I expected nothing interesting in the way of female characters, but it was a happy surprise to find Lady Barbara Wellesley on board ship.If you will forgive a few O'Brian/Forrester comparisons: O'Brian is funnier. Forrester's battle scenes are a bit easier for me to follow. Hornblower is a more interesting or at least complex character than Aubrey, but O'Brian has the advantage of Maturin, who not only adds character but allows for dialogue rather than the perennial internal monologues Hornblower has with himself because he has no one of rank to talk to.I hope that more seasoned readers of the series will agree with this appeal to newer readers: Even if you have read neither author, this book is a good place to start.

The first Hornblower book that Forester wrote, and the best. Exciting action, wonderful characterization--particularly Hornblower himself, who is a three-dimensional human with failings, not a cardboard cutout action hero--and even a bit of romance for those who like that sort of thing (me! me!). The scenes with Hornblower and Lady Barbara were so evocative and delightful--I felt as if I was sitting on the deck with them under the stars, listening to their conversations. I would recommend that the series be read in chronological order of Hornblower's career, rather than the order in which Forester wrote them, but BTQ is the jewel in the crown.

I first read BEAT TO QUARTERS when I borrowed it from a public library in 1940. It is now 1998 and the third copy of the book is in my book case, the other two copies, being paper-backs, having been read until worn out. I might add that, in my opinion, any aspiring writer would do well to read Forester, not to copy his style, but to realise that any good author can entertain, but only the great can enthrall; and only the greatest can make you "see" a character (even a minor one) in only two short lines of print. His death robbed the reading world of one of its most readable authors.