Real Hornblower

Product Description

First published in 1997 this timely release offers a comprehensive & engaging account of the life & times of this great naval Admiral. Ever since C.S. Forester's fictional hero Horatio Hornblower began to delight & enthral readers there has been speculation as to whether his adventures were based on the career of a real naval officer. Several names were suggested; the general conclusion was that Hornblower was a composite character. However while researching the campaign that resulted in the burning of Washington's public buildings Bryan Perret consulted Forester's Naval War of 1812 & was surprised to discover that the author had been deliberately reticent regarding a Captain James Alexander Gordon RN who had led his squadron up the Potomac. Further inspection of naval records revealed a startling number of parallels between the careers of Gordon & Hornblower. Subsequent research spanning a period of ten years uncovered yet more similarities
- too many in fact to be a matter of simple coincidence. It became apparent that while Forester certainly included other episodes in the Hornblower cycle he was aware of Gordon when the first of his books were written & that when he decided to expand the series he chose Gordon's career as the framework on which his hero's life would be based. As a professional author it was neither surprising that he should conceal the fact nor that he should choose Gordon as his model. Gordon had entered the Royal Navy as a semi-literate eleven-year-old & rose to become Admiral of the Fleet. He took part in major sea battles frigate actions single-ship duels & operations far behind enemy lines. It was the fire of his ships directed against Fort Mc Henry Baltimore that inspired the National Anthem. He was the last Governor of the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich & when he died having served for more than seventy five years in the Navy The Times commented that he was' the last of Nelson's captains'. That he should have attracted Forster's attention is not therefore surprising. In telling the largely unknown story of Admiral Gordon's active service career Bryan Perrett has produced a book that will be appreciated by the thousands of readers who have enjoyed the adventures of Horatio Hornblower & his successors. It will also be welcomed by anyone with an interest in the naval warfare of the Napoleonic era while those who take pleasure in biography will find that they have the added bonus of an absorbing literary & historical detective story.