Lieutenant Hornblower revisited
Apr. 2nd, 2025 05:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeI re-read Lieutenant Hornblower last week (having read it out of order, I've now got back to it in my publication-order Hornblower read-through), and was going to write up something about it but then I re-watched Kidnapped on Saturday and that took up all the room in my brain for a while. Now contemplating an AU where Hornblower and Bush are about fifty years older and somehow end up on the crew of the Precariosa/Covenant.
Anyway:
Some senior lieutenants, on finding themselves having alarmingly tender feelings towards their junior lieutenant, admiring his beautiful sensitive hands and so on, might worry about how that's possibly just a bit gay. Not William Bush! He worries that liking and respecting a man junior to himself in the hierarchy is just not done here in Nelson's Navy and in fact savours of nothing so much as French egalitarianism :O Shocking. I think that's what makes Bush work as a character, really—he's bigoted and conventionally authoritarian in such a cheerful, and sometimes bizarre taking-it-to-the-logical-conclusion, way that it zooms right past repugnant and into absurdly endearing. That, and the contrast in character between him and Hornblower, which comes across especially well in this book with Bush's POV.
Speaking of which: I said in my first review that this book seemed to be more aware of the general horrific messed-up-ness of the navy as a structure and environment and what that does to the characters, and I'm not sure now that that's exactly it. A major theme of this book is the tension between the importance of respecting the hierarchy—senior officers make decisions, come up with plans and give orders, juniors do what they're told—and the fact that sometimes the hierarchy is inappropriate. Captain Sawyer is grossly unfit for command, of course, but there's also Lieutenant Buckland who's merely too weak and indecisive to be a good first-lieutenant-acting-captain, and of course Hornblower himself having a far better tactical brain than the currently-senior Bush, and so Hornblower must delicately and deferentially suggest plans that of course it isn't his place actually to come up with or decide on carrying out. But with the earlier-published, later-set books already existing, this book is committed to concluding that (sometimes at least) things do right themselves in the end, the more competent Hornblower does end up getting deservedly promoted above Bush and Buckland and ends up at the very highest levels of the hierarchy. It doesn't fix him, of course, but that wasn't the point, or was it?
I feel very sorry for Wellard, who does something literally unspeakable as far as the 'must respect the hierarchy' thing goes, and perhaps just a little bit morally dodgy, but really pretty understandable given the situation, and then dies undramatically offstage. He should have got to live and be happy.
Not sure when I'll get round to watching the TV series! I will do it at some point, but I have several other things on my to-watch list at the moment and don't usually spend all that much time watching TV anyway, so we'll see.
Speaking of which: I am faced now with a puzzle, because I know that the TV adaptation is based on Midshipman, Lieutenant and Hornblower and the Hotspur, and was naturally under the impression that those were the first three books in chronological order and followed each other in publication order; but I now have Lieutenant in an omnibus edition of books about 'THE YOUNG HORNBLOWER' which also contains Midshipman and Hornblower and the Atropos but not Hornblower and the Hotspur, so perhaps Atropos is actually the next book? So I've just looked this up: Atropos IS the next book and Hotspur was actually published even later, after Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies which I had been under the impression was the last-published book in the series!! I suppose it's set between Lieutenant and Atropos and that's where the TV order comes from. My goodness, this series is a headache.
...So in this book, right, the war (supposedly) ends and Hornblower and Bush find themselves unemployed when the navy is reduced to peacetime strength; there's a brief discussion of how impossible it is for them to find situations on a merchant ship instead. Well, there was also a war that (actually) ended in 1748, just three years before Kidnapped is set, so what if AU-fifty-years-older!Hornblower and Bush end up in the same situation—but they do somehow manage to get places on a merchant ship... and that merchant ship is the Covenant!
Anyway:
Some senior lieutenants, on finding themselves having alarmingly tender feelings towards their junior lieutenant, admiring his beautiful sensitive hands and so on, might worry about how that's possibly just a bit gay. Not William Bush! He worries that liking and respecting a man junior to himself in the hierarchy is just not done here in Nelson's Navy and in fact savours of nothing so much as French egalitarianism :O Shocking. I think that's what makes Bush work as a character, really—he's bigoted and conventionally authoritarian in such a cheerful, and sometimes bizarre taking-it-to-the-logical-conclusion, way that it zooms right past repugnant and into absurdly endearing. That, and the contrast in character between him and Hornblower, which comes across especially well in this book with Bush's POV.
Speaking of which: I said in my first review that this book seemed to be more aware of the general horrific messed-up-ness of the navy as a structure and environment and what that does to the characters, and I'm not sure now that that's exactly it. A major theme of this book is the tension between the importance of respecting the hierarchy—senior officers make decisions, come up with plans and give orders, juniors do what they're told—and the fact that sometimes the hierarchy is inappropriate. Captain Sawyer is grossly unfit for command, of course, but there's also Lieutenant Buckland who's merely too weak and indecisive to be a good first-lieutenant-acting-captain, and of course Hornblower himself having a far better tactical brain than the currently-senior Bush, and so Hornblower must delicately and deferentially suggest plans that of course it isn't his place actually to come up with or decide on carrying out. But with the earlier-published, later-set books already existing, this book is committed to concluding that (sometimes at least) things do right themselves in the end, the more competent Hornblower does end up getting deservedly promoted above Bush and Buckland and ends up at the very highest levels of the hierarchy. It doesn't fix him, of course, but that wasn't the point, or was it?
I feel very sorry for Wellard, who does something literally unspeakable as far as the 'must respect the hierarchy' thing goes, and perhaps just a little bit morally dodgy, but really pretty understandable given the situation, and then dies undramatically offstage. He should have got to live and be happy.
Not sure when I'll get round to watching the TV series! I will do it at some point, but I have several other things on my to-watch list at the moment and don't usually spend all that much time watching TV anyway, so we'll see.
Speaking of which: I am faced now with a puzzle, because I know that the TV adaptation is based on Midshipman, Lieutenant and Hornblower and the Hotspur, and was naturally under the impression that those were the first three books in chronological order and followed each other in publication order; but I now have Lieutenant in an omnibus edition of books about 'THE YOUNG HORNBLOWER' which also contains Midshipman and Hornblower and the Atropos but not Hornblower and the Hotspur, so perhaps Atropos is actually the next book? So I've just looked this up: Atropos IS the next book and Hotspur was actually published even later, after Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies which I had been under the impression was the last-published book in the series!! I suppose it's set between Lieutenant and Atropos and that's where the TV order comes from. My goodness, this series is a headache.
...So in this book, right, the war (supposedly) ends and Hornblower and Bush find themselves unemployed when the navy is reduced to peacetime strength; there's a brief discussion of how impossible it is for them to find situations on a merchant ship instead. Well, there was also a war that (actually) ended in 1748, just three years before Kidnapped is set, so what if AU-fifty-years-older!Hornblower and Bush end up in the same situation—but they do somehow manage to get places on a merchant ship... and that merchant ship is the Covenant!
no subject
Date: Apr. 2nd, 2025 05:39 pm (UTC)But why fifty years older? And wouldn't that put them in their seventies?
Speaking of Wellard, do you consider the novel to be decisive on what Wellard did or didn't do?
The prequels (plus West Indies) are all out of order; I think Midshipman -> Lieutenant is as sensible as it gets. It was something like a decade before Forester picked up from the end of Lieutenant and launched into Hotspur, which begins, eh, two weeks after Lieutenant ends.
Did you pick up "Hornblower and the Big Decision"? Prequel to Lieutenant, published the year before Lieutenant, collected under the title "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" in Crisis.
ETA: Ack, I had more things to say!
Wholeheartedly agreed on the characterization of Bush zooming past morally repugnant into absurdly endearing. I think it's hilarious when the tumblr fandom declares that Bush has never done anything wrong in his life, because whoo boy, he very much HAS. And would do again! But he's kinda like a beloved pet dog with an unfortunate prey drive toward cats: there's no help for it, and no point in holding it against him, you just have to keep him away from cats.
Re mutiny and whether or not this book is a commentary on the messed-up-ed-ness of the Navy... I think Lord's mutiny section does take that on. I so wish that Lieutenant had been written before Lord, though, because I'd like to know what the Lord mutiny section looks like, if it was aware that Hornblower had plotted a mutiny in his youth...
no subject
Date: Apr. 2nd, 2025 06:42 pm (UTC)That's what I was thinking! And with no Shuan, Ransome might actually fare better—unless Hoseason kills him instead, as in the play, which might work well if using the setting of the Covenant to comment further on the Problem of Tyrannical Captains. Ah, and of course Hornblower's excellent seamanship and quick brains would avert the shipwreck on the Torran Rocks!
Oh, and sorry for the confusing phrasing!—I meant, it's the 1750s rather than the 1800s, so if Hornblower and Bush were born fifty years earlier they'd be the same age as they are in canon at the time of Lieutenant.
Speaking of Wellard, do you consider the novel to be decisive on what Wellard did or didn't do?
I remember being rather embarrassingly confused about this the first time, and now I'm not sure it's decisive, but I think the reader is meant to understand that 'Wellard gave Sawyer a push and Hornblower saw' is at least being suggested as an implication. Probably.
Did you pick up "Hornblower and the Big Decision"?
No, not yet! I don't seem to be able to load Faded Page at the moment, but I'll have a look for it.
I think it's hilarious when the tumblr fandom declares that Bush has never done anything wrong in his life
XD Fine fandom tradition, declaring that of some character of whom it's definitely not true! I love your description of him as a dog too fond of chasing cats, oh dear.
And this could be an entertaining/terrible thing to see in the hypothetical Kidnapped crossover, because 1750s!Bush would obviously hate Jacobites and might well be perfectly happy with the plan to kill Alan—only from motives of 'damned dirty spy deserves to be shot' rather than 'let's murder him for his money'.
I'd like to know what the Lord mutiny section looks like, if it was aware that Hornblower had plotted a mutiny in his youth...
I hadn't thought of it like that, but that is such a good question! Argh...
no subject
Date: Apr. 2nd, 2025 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Apr. 3rd, 2025 05:40 pm (UTC)