April 1803. The Peace of Amiens is breaking down. Napoleon is building ships and amassing an army just across the Channel. Horatio Hornblower-who, at age twenty-seven, has already distinguished himself as one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy-commands the three-masted Hotspur on a dangerous reconnaissance mission that evolves, as war breaks out, into a series of spectacular confrontations. All the while, the introspective young commander struggles to understand his new bride and mother-in-law, his officers and crew, and his own "accursed unhappy temperament"-matters that trouble him more, perhaps, than any of Bonaparte's cannonballs.

Although unfinished at the time C. S. Forester's death, Hornblower During the Crisis delivers a full measure of action at sea-the hallmark of this incomparably exciting series of historical adventures.

On the threshold of securing his first post as captain, Hornblower finds himself forced by the exigencies of war to fight alongside a man whom he has unintentionally to court-martial. And for the first time Hornblower assents to engaging in espionage in his efforts to bring victory and glory to England in the Napoleonic Wars.

This extant fragment of Forester's final Hornblower novel is followed by the author's notes regarding the novel's conclusion. Also included in this volume are two stories-"Hornblower's Temptation" and "The Last Encounter"-that depict the great sea dog Hornblower in his youth and old age, respectively.

Mr Marble is in serious debt, desperate for money to pay his family's bills, until the combination of a wealthy relative, a bottle of Cyanide and a shovel offer him the perfect solution. Slowly the Marble family becomes poisoned by guilt, and caught in a trap of secrets, fear and blackmail. Then Mrs Marble ensures that retribution comes in the most unexpected of ways...

In this, the tenth volume in C.S. Forester's series of classic naval adventure tales, Horatio Hornblower must rescue a man he knows to be a tyrant from the mutiny of his crew--a dubious chore, but one that leads Hornblower, with the aid of his old love, Marie, to the glorious conclusion of his own battle with Napoleon.

In this ninth installment in the Hornblower series, the incomparable Horatio Hornblower, recently knighted and settled in as squire of the village of Smallbridge, has been designated commodore of his own squadron of ships, led by the two-decker Nonsuch and bound for the Baltic. It is 1812, and Hornblower has been ordered to do anything and everything possible, diplomatically and militarily, to protect the Baltic trade and to stop the spread of Napoleon's empire into Sweden and Russia. Though he has set sail a hero, one misstep may ruin his chances of ever becoming an admiral. Hostile armies, seductive Russian royalty, nautical perils such as ice-bound bays, assassins in the imperial palace--Hornblower must conquer all before he can return home to his beloved new wife and son, as his instructions are to sacrifice every man and ship under his command rather than surrender ground to Napoleon.

Forced to surrender his ship, the Sutherland, after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, will be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating the laws of war, and most probably executed as an attempt by Napoleon to rally the war-weary empire behind him. Even if Hornblower escapes this fate, and somehow finds his way back to England, he will have to face court-martial there for his surrender of a British ship. As fears for his life and his reputation compete in Hornblower's mind with worries about his pregnant wife and his possibly widowed lover, the indomitable captain impatiently awaits the chance to make his next move.

June 1808, somewhere west of Nicaragua--a site suitable for spectacular sea battles. The Admiralty has ordered Captain Horatio Hornblower, now in command of the thirty-six-gun HMS Lydia, to form an alliance against the Spanish colonial government with an insane Spanish landowner; to find a water route across the Central American isthmus; and "to take, sink, burn, or destroy" the fifty-gun Spanish ship of the line Natividad or face court-martial. A daunting enough set of orders--even if happily married captain were not woefully distracted by the passenger he is obliged to take on in Panama: Lady Barbara Wellesley.

The eleventh tale of naval adventure in C.S. Forester's Hornblower series finds Horatio Hornblower an admiral struggling to impose order in the chaotic aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. As commander-in-chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in the West Indies, he must take on pirates, revolutionaries, and a blistering hurricane. The war is over, but peaceful it is not.

Central Africa, 1914; Rose Sayer, a thirty-three year-old English woman, is left alone when her missionary brother dies. Her only route out is aboard The African Queen, a steam-powered launch captained by Cockney mechanic, Charlie Alnutt. Determined to do her bit for the war effort and to avenge her brother, Rose persuades Charlie that they should attack the German gunboat, the Koenigin Luise. And so begins a most unlikely alliance and love affair, as Charlie and Rose venture down the treacherous Ulanga river encountering danger and adventure at every turn. This beautiful Macmillan Collector's Library edition of The African Queen by C. S. Forester features an introduction by the award-winning author and journalist, Giles Foden. Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING TOM HANKS Discover the acclaimed wartime classic from C. S. Forester - originally published as The Good Shepherd 'Unbelievably good' James Holland, bestselling author of Normandy '44 It's 1942. America has just joined the war. Greyhound, an international convoy of thirty-seven allied ships, is in operation. Captain Krause must lead his first command of a US destroyer as the convoy ploughs through the icy, submarine-infested North Atlantic seas. For forty-eight hours, Krause will play a desperate cat and mouse game against the wolf packs of German U-boats. His mission looks doomed to fail. But armed with extraordinary courage and grit, hope may just be on the horizon. . . This is a riveting classic of naval warfare from the author of the legendary Hornblower series. 'High and glittering excitement' New York Times

May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems "the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List." Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train "poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers," and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms over both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships of the line.

The book John Kelly reads every time he gets a promotion to remind him of 'the perils of hubris, the pitfalls of patriotism and duty unaccompanied by critical thinking' The most vivid, moving - and devastating - word-portrait of a World War One British commander ever written, here re-introduced by Max Hastings. C.S. Forester's 1936 masterpiece follows Lt General Herbert Curzon, who fumbled a fortuitous early step on the path to glory in the Boer War. 1914 finds him an honourable, decent, brave and wholly unimaginative colonel. Survival through the early slaughters in which so many fellow-officers perished then brings him rapid promotion. By 1916, he is a general in command of 100,000 British soldiers, whom he leads through the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, a position for which he is entirely unsuited and intellectually unprepared. Wonderfully human with Forester's droll relish for human folly on full display, this is the story of a man of his time who is anything but wicked, yet presides over appalling sacrifice and tragedy. In his awkwardness and his marriage to a Duke's unlovely, unhappy daughter, Curzon embodies Forester's full powers as a storyteller. His half-hero is patriotic, diligent, even courageous, driven by his sense of duty and refusal to yield to difficulties. But also powerfully damned is the same spirit which caused a hundred real-life British generals to serve as high priests at the bloodiest human sacrifice in the nation's history. A masterful and insightful study about the perils of hubris and unquestioning duty in leadership, The General is a fable for our times.

The Second Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea The nineteenth century dawns and the Napoleonic Wars rage as Horatio Hornblower is ordered to the Caribbean and dangerous waters. New Lieutenant Hornblower's latest ship is HMS Renown, a sound vessel whose captain is unfortunately of rather unsound mind. When ordered to attack a Spanish anchorage, the chain of command breaks down and it requires all of Hornblower's seafaring cunning to avert disaster. As cannons pound and splinters fly aboard their beleaguered vessel, and the men are forced to engage at close quarters, the young lieutenant knows that to save his ship and crew he must prove himself a master of the high seas . . . This is the second of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. Featuring an exclusive introduction by Bernard Cornwell, creator of Sharpe 'One of the best. Everyone interested in war, or in human nature, should read this fascinating tale' The Times Literary Supplement

Horatio Hornblower, only seventeen years old, gets his sea legs in this absolutely compelling (San Francisco Chronicle) first installment of C. S. Forester's classic naval adventure series. The year is 1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Horatio Hornblower, a seventeen-year-old boy unschooled in seafaring and the ways of seamen, is ordered to board a French merchant ship and take command of crew and cargo for the glory of England. Though not an unqualified success, this first naval adventure teaches the young midshipman enough to launch him on a series of increasingly glorious exploits. This novel -- in which young Horatio gets his sea legs, proves his mettle, and shows the makings of the legend he will become -- is the first of the eleven swashbuckling Hornblower tales that are today regarded as classic adventure stories of the sea. I recommend Forester to every literate I know. --Ernest Hemingway

THE GRIPPING NAVAL THRILLER, NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING TOM HANKS _______ 1942. America enters the war and an untested officer receives his first wartime command . . . Ploughing through icy, submarine-infested North Atlantic seas is a convoy of thirty-seven merchant ships, carrying vital Allied supplies. In charge is Commander Krause, a grizzled but unproven veteran of the U.S. Navy. Over the next forty-eight hours he will stay on watch aboard the bridge of his destroyer as the convoy is hounded by a murderous wolf pack of German U-boats determined to sink every ship without trace. But armed with extraordinary courage and grit, Commander Krause will battle the U-boats, tiredness, self-doubt and self-reproach, as he desperately tries to protect the ships and lives under his command . . . This classic wartime novel is a thrillingly taut tale of bravery and determination against all odds, set during the darkest moments of the Second World War. _______ Praise for C. S. Forester 'Action, tension, tingling suspense . . . The greatest adventure story to come out of World War II' Life Magazine 'I recommend Forester to every literate I know' Ernest Hemingway 'I find Hornblower admirable, vastly entertaining' Sir Winston Churchill

In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain. Her first assignment under Hornblower's command is as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. Soon Atropos is part of the Mediterranean Fleet's harassment of Napoleon, recovering treasure that lies deep in Turkish waters and boldly challenging a Spanish frigate several times her size. At the center of each adventure is Hornblower, Forester's most inspired creation, whose blend of cautious preparation and spirited execution dazzles friend and foe alike.

A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea 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 rank: he must embark upon a grave and perilous mission to recapture the Flame in the Bay of Seine, where the brutal and foul-tempered Lieutenant Augustine Chadwick is being held prisoner by a mutinous crew. Rescuing the Lieutenant demands all of Horatio's spirit and seafaring prowess - for at the same time, he must contend with capturing two French cargo vessels and take part in negotiations to topple the faltering Napoleon once and for all . . . This is the ninth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C.S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. 'A recipe for pure pleasure' Bernard Cornwell

A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea 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. 'I recommend Forester to every literate I know' Ernest Hemingway

A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea June, 1808 - and 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 Central American isthmus; and 'to take, sink, burn or destroy' the fifty-gun Spanish ship of the line Natividad - or face court-martial. And as if he did not have enough trouble, Hornblower must also contend with the beguiling charms of an unwanted passenger: Lady Barbara Wellesley . . . This is the fifth of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. 'I find Hornblower admirable, vastly entertaining' Sir Winston Churchill

The Third Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea April 1803, and the Peace of Amiens is failing as Horatio Hornblower takes a sloop on a vital reconnaissance mission . . . On the day of his marriage to Maria, Hornblower is ordered to take the Hotspur and head for Brest - war is coming and Napoleon will not catch His Majesty's navy with its britches round its ankles. With thoughts of his new life as a husband intruding on his duties, Hornblower must prove himself to be not only the most capable commander in the fleet, but also its most daring if he is to stop the French gaining the upper hand. This is the third of eleven books chronicling the adventures of C. S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower. Featuring an exclusive introduction by Bernard Cornwell, creator of Sharpe 'A master of the genre' New York Times Book Review

A classic novel about the Peninsular War from the celebrated author of the HORNBLOWER series Abandoned by the retreating Spanish army during the Peninsular War, the gun is an eighteen pounder bronze cannon, thirteen feet long, weighing three tons. When a group of Spanish partisans come across it two years later they see in it a chance for victory against the French - but first they must haul it across the mountains with nothing but a handful of donkeys and half-starved oxen. On its epic journey the cannon begins to gain almost mystical significance. For, with the gun, they are no longer a band of Spanish irregulars, they are an army able to take on the cream of Napoleon's troops...

In this gripping tale of turmoil and triumph on the high seas, Horatio Hornblower emerges from his apprenticeship as midshipman to face new responsibilities thrust upon him by the fortunes of war between Napoleon and Spain. Enduring near-mutiny, bloody hand-to-hand combat with Spanish seamen, deck-splintering sea battles, and the violence and horror of life on the fighting ships of the Napoleonic Wars, the young lieutenant distinguishes himself in his first independent command. He also faces an adventure unique in his experience: Maria.