Order of Horatio Hornblower Books
Horatio Hornblower is the protagonist in a series of naval adventure novels by English novelist C.S. Forester. The series is set during the Napoleonic Wars. Horatio begins the series as a junior captain with the Royal Navy on a secret mission to Central America. As the series goes on, he moves up the ranks of the Royal Navy. Winston Churchill once said that he found the character “admirable.”
C.S. Forester began the Horatio Hornblower series in 1937 with the novel The Happy Return. The series lasted 11 novels with various short stories until Hornblower and the Crisis, published in 1967. Below is a list of C.S. Forester’s Horiatio Hornblower books in order of when they were originally released:
Publication Order of Horatio Hornblower Books
| The Happy Return / Beat to Quarters | (1937) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Ship of the Line | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Flying Colours | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Commodore / Commodore Hornblower | (1945) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lord Hornblower | (1946) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Mr. Midshipman Hornblower | (1950) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lieutenant Hornblower | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower and the Atropos | (1953) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies / Hornblower in the West Indies | (1957) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower and the Hotspur | (1962) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower During the Crisis / Hornblower and the Crisis | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Chronological Order of Horatio Hornblower Books
| Mr. Midshipman Hornblower | (1950) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lieutenant Hornblower | (1952) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower and the Hotspur | (1962) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower During the Crisis / Hornblower and the Crisis | (1967) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Hornblower and the Atropos | (1953) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Happy Return / Beat to Quarters | (1937) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Ship of the Line | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Flying Colours | (1938) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| The Commodore / Commodore Hornblower | (1945) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Lord Hornblower | (1946) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
| Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies / Hornblower in the West Indies | (1957) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Horatio Hornblower Collections
| Captain Hornblower R.N. | (1965) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
Publication Order of Horatio Hornblower Non-Fiction Books
| The Hornblower Companion | (1964) | Description / Buy at Amazon.com |
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Under the author information in “Hornblower and the Atropos” which I read according to this chronological order before “Hornblower and the Hotspur” (finding out Hornblower was married and had two children – to read about the marriage in Hotspur) – I believe the correct order in which to read the books should be:-
Mr.
Midshipman Hornblower
Lieutenant
Hornblower
Hornblower
and the Hotspur
Hornblower
and the Crisis
Hornblower
and the Atropos
The
Happy Return
Ship of
the Line
Flying
Colours
The
Commodore
Lord
Hornblower
Admiral
Hornblower in the West Indies
The Hornblower book titled The Happy Return is published in the US under the title Beat to Quarters.