History Literature / HoratioHornblower

** Which also happened to be a minor but noted anachronism, among other [[ArtisticLicenseHistory historical inaccuracies]], well more numerous than the series average, in that book: Percussion caps and locks wouldn't be invented in real life for another decade.

* SignificantBirthDate: Post-RetCon, Hornblower was born on July 4, 1776. Occasionally remarked on by individuals who find his views to be dangerously republican (for instance, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance the idea that a republic could be a legitimate form of government]].) Otherwise, it's not significant at all -- he never had much dealings with Americans, even during his tenure as Admiral and C-in-C of the (peacetime and much-reduced) British naval forces in the West Indies, at the dawn of the ''Pax Britannica''.

* SignificantBirthDate: Post-RetCon, Hornblower was born on July 4, 1776. Occasionally remarked on by individuals who find his views to be dangerously republican (for instance, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance the idea that a republic could be a legitimate form of government]].) Otherwise, it's not significant at all -- he never had much dealings with Americans, even during his tenure as an Admiral in the West Indies.

* SignificantBirthDate: Post-RetCon, Hornblower was born on July 4, 1776. Occasionally remarked on by individuals who find his views to be dangerously republican (for instance, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance the idea that a republic could be a legitimate form of government]].) Otherwise, it's not significant at all -- he never even meets any Americans.

** Which also happened to be a minor but noted anachronism, among other [[ArtisticLicenseHistory historical inaccuracies]], well more than the series average, in that book: Percussion caps and locks wouldn't be invented in real life for another decade.

* PatrioticFervor: Bush. He's disturbed when he finds himself edging close to "red Revolutionary" notions (mainly in feeling admiration for a junior officer, Hornblower) and despairs of what England would think if the ''Renown'' was captured by the Spanish prisoners. In ''Commodore'', rather darkly, he wants to call a surgeon for the botched suicide of a turncoat so that they can ''hang'' him, which Hornblower — who knows Bush as a kindly man — is horrified by.

** The set of double barrelled, rifled, percussion pistols Lady Barbara gives Hornblower at the beginning of ''The Commodore''. [[spoiler:One is stolen by his Finnish interpreter, Braun, who attempts to assassinate both Czar Alexander and the King of Sweden at a banquet to avenge the conquest of Finland; he chose Hornblower's, which were likely the only of their kind in Eastern Europe]], because they were very accurate, wouldn't misfire, and had two shots. Hornblower puts everything together (after remembering seeing the pistol in Braun's waist while embarking the boat to the palace which he forgot in the excitement), and stops him in time. He also retrieves the stolen pistol.

* PatrioticFervor: Bush. He's disturbed when he finds himself edging close to "red Revolutionary" notions (mainly in feeling admiration for a junior officer, Hornblower) and despairs of what England would think if the ''Renown'' was captured by the Spanish prisoners. In ''Commodore'', rather darkly, he wants to call a surgeon for the botched suicide of a turncoat so that they can ''hang'' him, which Hornblower — who knows Bush as a kindly man — is horrified by.

** The set of double barrelled, rifled, percussion pistols Lady Barbara gives Hornblower at the beginning of ''The Commodore''. [[spoiler:One is stolen by his Finnish interpreter, Braun, who attempts to assassinate both Czar Alexander and the King of Sweden at a banquet to avenge the conquest of Finland; he chose Hornblower's, which [[RareGuns were likely the only of their kind in Eastern Europe]], because they were very accurate, wouldn't misfire, and had two shots. Hornblower puts everything together (after remembering seeing the pistol in Braun's waist while embarking the boat to the palace which he forgot in the excitement), and stops him in time. He also retrieves the stolen pistol.]]

* RareGuns: Lady Barbara gives Hornblower a pair of ebony handled, double barrelled, rifled percussion pistols, which he muses must have taken some craftsman months in rifling and handmade caps alone, in ''The Commodore''. Which is set in ''1812''. [[DescriptionPorn Nearly two pages are dedicated to describing them.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A number of real-life Royal Navy officers from the time appear in the novels -- mostly as cameos, but some of them have a more significant role. The most prominent example is Captain Sir Edward Pellew (later Admiral Lord Exmouth). Hornblower also encounters George III, Lord Palmerston, the Prince Regent (who knights him) and Louis-Naploeon Bonaparte, among many others. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower#Historical_figures_in_the_novels comprehensive list]].

** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold Lois McMaster Bujold]] credits Hornblower as one of the inspiratios for her [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/VorkosiganSaga Vorkosigan Saga]].

* AGodAmI: El Supremo, who is Hornblower's primary ally [[spoiler: and later the primary villain]] in ''Beat To Quarters''.

** In the short story "The Last Encounter", taking place in 1848, an elderly Hornblower assists a man claiming to be Napoleon Bonaparte -- who Hornblower knows is long dead -- in his passage back to France to run in the election for president. Hornblower views him as a harmless madman and helps him out of amusement. At the end, the man is revealed to be ''Louis'' Napoleon Bonaparte (the original Boney's nephew), who wins the election -- and several years later, stages a ''coup'' and crowns himself as Emperor Napoleon III [[note]] Boney's son is regarded as "Napoleon II", although in actual fact he was never officially acknowledged as the Emperor[[/note]].

* BoxedCrook: Doctor Claudius, in ''Hornblower and the Crisis.'' [[spoiler: Claudius is a [[SinisterMinister Church of England clergyman]] who, disappointed at his failure to gain promotion in the church, turned to forgery.]]

* CanonDiscontinuity: C. S. Forester himself discouraged reprinting of the short stories ''The Hand of Destiny'', ''The Bad Semaritan'' and ''Hornblower and His Majesty'' because of the {{continuity snarl}} ''The Hand of Destiny'' caused (the capture of the ''Castilla'' and the powder burns to Hornblower's hand). All three were included in a very rare biography of C. S. Forester, but can be found [[http://www.scaryfangirl.com/Once%20Again5thNetVer.pdf here]].

* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: [[BookEnds Admiral Leighton and Maria Hornblower]]]] die in ''Flying Colours'', and [[spoiler: Marie Ladon]] is killed in ''Lord Hornblower''.

** In ''Flying Colours,'' Hornblower sees an American ship and thinks it inevitable that they'll have to give up their neutrality soon -- the only question is if they'll fight Napoleon or if they'll decide to [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 have another go at the British]] [[note]]as it happens, by the time the novel is set, the Americans had ''already'' fought the French, with unofficial British support, in the Quasi-War of 1798 to 1800. More famously, however, they would fight the British in the later War of 1812[[/note]].

* RiddleForTheAges: In ''Lieutenant'', how did Captain Sawyer fall down the hatchway? Did he slip, or was he pushed? If it was the latter, who pushed him? This is the only Hornblower novel not to be told from Hornblower's perspective, and in the story itself, he -- a witness of the incient -- begins an investigation of the incident with the only other witness being his assistant. By the end of the book, the other man is dead, and Hornblower himself never reveals the answer. [[spoiler: A non-canonical 'biography' of Hornblower, ''The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower'' by C. Northcote Parkinson, resolves this with a letter opened a century after Hornblower's death in which he admits that he killed Sawyer.]]

--> ''"...England still had allies -- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_I_of_Portugal Portugal under an insane queen]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XIII_of_Sweden Sweden under a mad king]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_the_Two_Sicilies and Sicily, here, under a worthless king]]."''

* BadToTheLastDrop: Hornblower's supply of coffee tends to run short early in a voyage. The usual Royal Navy substitute is burnt toast in hot water, which obviously doesn't do much except ''look'' like coffee if you squint.

** Admiral Collingwood also treats Hornblower very well in ''Atropos''. At the end, he clearly hates having to take Hornblower's ship away from him and tries to soften the blow by fast-tracking him into a new command. (This is TruthInTelevision, apparently; Collingwood was universally beloved by his men.)

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: A variant; the card game whist is treated this way. Hornblower excels at it due to his mathematical mind.

* ThatsAnOrder: Lieutenant Bush does this to his then-junior Hornblower several times in ''Lieutenant'' so that Hornblower will pause his incessant activity long enough to drink and eat, and later asks Acting-Captain Buckland to make "get some sleep" an order too

** An accepted practice at the time the books take place, which allows Hornblower to challenge a bullying midshipman during his first voyage. He asks one gun be loaded and the other not so as to compensate for his dubious aiming skills. [[spoiler:The captain has neither loaded to put a stop to the duel and prevent the loss of either midshipman.]] However, challenging a higher-ranking officer is illegal ([[KlingonPromotion for obvious reasons]]).

* SteppingOutForAQuickCupOfCoffee: At the end of ''Hotspur'', Hornblower decides to let his steward Doughty, under arrest for striking a bullying superior, escape to an American ship that happens to be in the same port. Hornblower arranges a series of perfectly harmless coincidences so that Doughty is unrestrained (because an official is coming aboard and the new steward can't handle it), unguarded (Hornblower has to deal with said official), and makes sure the watch's attention is directed forward. When Bush notices Doughty's absence, Hornblower puts him off until it's certain that Doughty is irretrievable and only then does he take himself to task for his "carelessness." (He is also considerably stressed out during and after this that someone will realize what he's up to, along with the moral implications for the flagrant breach of duty.)

* MyGreatestFailure:
** Hornblower can never let himself live down the fact that he was seasick in a ship anchored in Spithead on his first day as a midshipman, even though that is probably the least likely thing anyone who knew him as a midshipman would remember next to taking a Spanish galley with one boat, boarding a fire ship to steer it away from the fleet, the cutting-out of the ''Papillon''....
** Buckland's fate in-universe. Despite the ''Renown's'' success on Samana, all that will be remembered is that he was taken prisoner in his bed when the captured Spaniards attempted to take the ship. Bush reflects on the illogicality of this, knowing that Buckland (for all his wavering) would have fought just as Bush if he'd been able.

** The books are 'exceptionally'' well-researched in terms of understanding naval matters and the period. It's relatively easy to miss that this was written as historical fiction.

* UnbuiltTrope: Even in what's arguably the flagship of the WoodenShipsAndIronMen genre, Hornblower is brilliant captain, and a frequently self-doubting man who has difficulty remembering or believing that people actually ''like'' him.

* ProfessionalGambler: During a temporary peace with France, Hornblower is in financial straits due to a mixup over prize money. To keep himself alive, he hires out to an innkeeper to play whist with the other guests.

* DrinkBasedCharacterization: Contrary to the [[SpotOfTea common English stereotype]], Hornblower prefers to drink coffee rather than tea, or at least whatever passes for coffee depending on supplies (in one book, the coffee is described as being made with crushed burnt bread, with enough sugar to mask the taste.) Coffee was enormously fashionable in England for many years, and London in particular was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffeehouse#Coffee_in_Europe lousy]] with coffee-houses in the 1700s. Tea was also more expensive than coffee, and Hornblower--who is always having to pawn things to complete his ship and rarely gets prizes--can barely afford jam most of the time.

** In the (unfinished) ''Hornblower and the Crisis'', he helps lure the enemy into the Battle of Trafalgar with a false message.
** There is one short story that takes place during the War of 1812, where Hornblower has a brush with an American ship. [[spoiler:Since he's commanding a barely-armed yacht to take the King on a day trip, he evades battle.]]
** In ''Commodore Hornblower'' it is implied that his actions were essential to foiling the French attempt to take Riga.

** Played straight, though not world-shakingly, by the creation of a fictional Wellesley named Barbara whom Hornblower romances [[spoiler:and eventually marries, making the Duke of Wellington his brother-in-law]].
** Hornblower is put in charge of Nelson's funeral procession. The leading vessel, carrying the coffin, nearly sinks out from under him. (His pocketwatch is also nearly laid to rest with Nelson after Hornblower leaves it hanging off one of the handles.)
** While Hornblower is Commander-in-Chief of the West Indies squadron, a wool merchant of Venezuelan descent forges Hornblower's signature, poses as a Royal Navy officer and seizes a Dutch transport carrying Spanish field guns, which he gives to Simon Bolivar's army. Hornblower realises that those guns secured the victory for Bolivar in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carabobo the Battle of Carabobo,]] which determined the fate of Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. Hornblower himself captures the merchant's abandoned private yatch (a former Navy brig-sloop), then, through verbal trickery, avoids surrendering it or starting a war with the Spanish and Dutch naval officials.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A number of real-life Royal Navy officers from the time appear in the novels -- mostly as cameos, but some of them have a more significant role. Some of the more prominent examples are Admirals Cornwallis and St. Vincent. Hornblower also encounters George III, Lord Palmerston, the Prince Regent (who knights him) and Louis-Naploeon Bonaparte, among many others. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower#Historical_figures_in_the_novels comprehensive list]].

** In ''Hornblower and the Atropos'', Hornblower commands the barge carrying UsefulNotes/HoratioNelson's body up the Thames to his state funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral. Unbeknown to everyone but him and the crew, the barge has been holed below the waterline thanks to an accident just before they picked up the Body (which is referred to with a capital "B" in the many, many plans), and disaster is narrowly averted.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: A number of real captains (and other officers) from the Royal Navy appear in the novels--mostly cameos, but some of them have a more significant role. Some of the more prominent examples are Admiral Cornwallis and ''George III''. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatio_Hornblower#Historical_figures_in_the_novels comprehensive list]].

** In ''Flying Colours,'' Hornblower sees an American ship and thinks it inevitable that they'll have to give up their neutrality soon--the only question is if they'll fight Napoleon or if they'll decide to [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 have another go at the British]].[[note]]As it happens, by the time the novel is set, the Americans had already fought the French, with unofficial British support, in the Quasi-War of 1798 to 1800. More famously, however, they would fight the British in the later War of 1812.[[/note]]

* ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'': 1950. A collection of short stories about Hornblower's first years at sea. It later became the basis of the A&E-[=ITV=] series starring Ioan Gruffud.

* "Hornblower's Charitable Offering / The Bad Semeritan" 1941. Hornblower and the ''Sutherland'' try to help the inmates of a Spanish prison island. Originally intended as a chapter in ''A Ship of the Line''.

** Usually inverted. Forester deliberately keeps Horatio out of the way of most of the major historical events of the time (for example, the first book has Hornblower way out in the Pacific in 1808 to keep him out of the Peninsular Wars), particularly [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOf1812 tensions with America]]. This loosened as the books went on, although Hornblower doesn't become Admiral until peacetime.

** There is one short story that takes place during the War of 1812, where Hornblower has a brush with an American ship. [[spoiler:Since he's commanding a barely-armed yacth to take the King on a day trip, he evades battle.]]

* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: In "The Bad Semeritan," two French prisoners escape from an island that the Spanish are using as a [=POW=] camp and are picked up by the ''Sutherland.'' Both are utterly emaciated because the Spaniards are cruelly apathetic about actually feeding them, but one says that there is one kind of food which is ''always'' available and that there are much fewer of them now than started out. Hornblower has to take a moment to be horrified at the idea of this happening in the enlightened 19th century.

* PaintingTheMedium: Hornblower thinks of Bush as having little imagination. ''Lieutenant'' follows Bush instead of Hornblower, and there's a profound lack of Hornblower's usual metaphors and similes, especially when compared to ''Atropos''.

* ParentalSubstitute: Inverted. Bush loves Hornblower like a son, even if he's too out-of-touch with his own emotions to realize it. When they first served together, this was more of BigBrotherInstinct for Bush.

* PatrioticFervor: Bush. He's disturbed when he finds himself edging close to "red Revolutionary" notions (mainly in feeling admiration for a junior officer, Hornblower) and despairs of what England would think if the ''Renown'' was captured by the Spanish prisoners. In ''Commodore'', rather darkly, he wants to call a surgeon for the botched suicide of a turncoat so that they can ''hang'' him.

* SherlockScan: Bush, surprisingly, does one in "The Bad Semeritan" when he points out all of the strange aspects of the French escapees picked up by the ''Sutherland''--their clothes are much too ragged, they're far too thin, and their sunburn too deep for men coming from ''normal'' prison conditions.