The Hornblower Companion

by C. Northcote Parkinson

The sub-title of this work says it all: "An Atlas and Personal Commentary on the Writing of the Hornblower Sagas by C. S. Forester, with Illustrations and Maps by Samuel Bryant". In eighteen chapters this slim volume summarizes the travels and adventures of Hornblower at key locations described in the several novels chronically Hornblower's life from his entering into the King's service as a midshipman through his posting as "Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies." Approximately one-half of this book is devoted to the author's thoughts in writing about Hornblower and the other characters that fill the pages of the series. Equal in value to understanding the Hornblower sagas are the excellent maps and illustrations liberally scattered throughout, maps and illustrations that allow the reader to live vicariously next to Hornblower as he moves through history.