Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
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Book Summary Information
Author: C. S. ForesterEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1998-05-31
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 310
Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T)
Book Reviews of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Book Review: MR. MIDSHIPMAN HORNBLOWER by C. S. Forester
Summary: 4 Stars
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a 1950 novel by C. S. Forester. It is, chronologically, the first book in the eleven-book Hornblower series, although Forester wrote it sixth. It reads and flows considerably more like a sequence of short stories than a novel. In 1794, the young Horatio Hornblower enters the Royal Navy as a midshipman. Britain is involved in military action against France and Spain (it is the dawn of the Napoleonic Wars), and Hornblower has adventures in and out of combat.
The gawky, seasick Hornblower is an interesting character. He is intelligent, brave, and clever, but he is also extremely introspective, self-critical, and insecure, which makes him an unnecessarily harsh judge of himself, as he typically focuses on what he perceives as his cowardice and dishonesty. To a large degree, the way Forester handles and develops this character is what keeps things interesting.
Forester's writing is not for everyone. He is short on the physical details of characters and rather long on the use of two hundred year old naval jargon. This latter gives his writing a profound ring of authenticity, although it may prove somewhat inscrutable at times to most twenty-first century landsmen. Mostly, though, the stories and dialogue flow coherently.
With a collection of entertaining if largely unremarkable stories, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower is a solid introduction to the Hornblower series for those desiring to read them chronologically.
Summary of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
"Oxford Bookworms" offer students at all levels the opportunity to extend their reading and appreciation of English. There are six stages, taking students from elementary to advanced level. At the lower stages, many of the texts have been specially written for the series, to provide elementary and lower-intermediate students with an introduction to real reading in English. At the higher stages, most of the books have been adapted from works originally published for native speakers. The language controls used in "Oxford Bookworms" are based on a syllabus specially created for the series by Tricia Hedge. This takes account of the more traditional approaches to grading and recent research into the nature of reading difficulty. The approximate vocabulary count for each stage is: Stage 1 - 400 words; Stage 2 - 700 words - Stage 3 - 1000 words; Stage 4 - 1400 words; Stage 5 - 1800 words; Stage 6 - 2500 words. All stages have exercises for classroom or private use, plus a supporting glossary to help students with vocabulary. Illustrations are used, especially at the lower stages, to help comprehension.Book Subjects
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