(nor had I twigged that the plague ship was foreshadowing—that's neat)

Forester does a lot of that: introduce a nautical concept or scenario in an early chapter that's going to become critical in a later chapter. It's one of the things I like about his writing.


I remember you saying Hornblower does something particularly awful in one of the latest-set books—is this what that was about?

I don't remember the specific conversation, but I was likely talking about another event in Lord. Sadly, Lord is rich in things not to like. :-(