Beat to Quarters by CS Forester
Another of the Hornblower books (sixth or first, depending). Unlike most of those I’ve read so far, this one is actually a real novel as opposed to a collection of shortish stories bound together as a book. The short stories work well, but so does this. In this one, Hornblower is a full captain and given the frigate Lydia and sent to Central America to strike a blow at the Spanish who are in cahoots with Napoleon.
While there, he has to deal with the nutjob El Supremo, and later with the Spanish as allies against Napoleon. He fights the far superiour Spanish ship of the line, Natividad, twice, the second time being dismasted before sinking the enemy. Because he sank the ship, he is denied port entry to repair the Lydia and must resort to pirate methods.
All this time, he’s ferrying a passenger, the Lady Barbara Wellesley who boarded to flee from yellow fever infested Panama. A remarkable woman, indeed, and Hornblower falls in love.
Excellent.
