Fearing a paternity suit from an opera singer and having bombed out of Hollywood, Forester boarded a ship bound for England. En route, he took a one-day excursion around the Gulf of Fonseca on the ship's motorboat, and when he returned, he had the plot to the first of 11 Horatio Hornblower books, "The Happy Return."
Forester was already a successful author, having previously penned two books. Perhaps his most famous novel other than the Hornblower series was "The African Queen," which was made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
When Hornblower debuted in 1937, he was already a junior captain and it wouldn't be until the sixth book that the character's history would be fully fleshed out. Despite being born to a doctor in Kent, Hornblower had no connections in the Royal Navy, nor did his family have any money to "buy" his promotions, which was a common practice at the time.
"Mr. Midshipman Hornblower," the sixth book, chronicles Hornblower's early days on board the frigate HMS Indefatigable. The book is made up of a series of yarns about Hornblower's days as a midshipmen. During his exams for promotion, Spanish ships set ablaze sail into port. Hornblower reacts quickly, boarding the ships and steering them out of harm's way. Later, he is given a small ship to command but gets caught up in a fog, which results in his imprisonment at a Spanish fort.
Eventually released, he is promoted and serves aboard the HMS Renown under the command of the paranoid Captain Sawyer. Once again, Hornblower proves his daring and cunning when he leads the charge to take a Spanish privateer stronghold. He also meets his lifelong shipmate, Lieutenant William Bush.
"The Happy Return" was published in the United States as "Beat to Quarters." Hornblower takes command of the HMS "Lydia" and sails Cape Horn to the Pacific, where he must support a Spanish revolutionary. It is on this voyage that Hornblower meets the love of his life--Lady Barbara Wellesley.
Hornblower loses his next command after a skirmish with the French. Captured, he is taken to France, but he wrestles his way free and steals another captured British ship. When he makes it back to England, he finds that his first wife had died while giving birth to his son. In the meantime, Lady Wellesley had taken in the boy. Lady Wellesley and Hornblower eventually marry after a period of mourning.
In the twilight of his career, Hornblower continues to have adventures on the high seas. As a commodore, he prevents the Russian Czar from being assassinated. Before he retires, Hornblower is made Admiral of the Fleet.
"The Last Encounter," a short story that chronicles the last tale of Hornblower's incredible life, spins the tale of an encounter with Napoleon III, nephew of the famed French ruler. In the story, Napoleon III comes to Hornblower's house and asks for his help to get back to Paris. Despite doubting the man's story, Hornblower provides him with transportation back to France. Napoleon III would later become president of France.
Several real-life persons appeared throughout the Hornblower books thanks to Forester's knowledge of naval history; among them were Sir Edward Pellew, who actually commanded the Indefatigable, and the admiral Sir William Cornwallis. Admiral Horatio Nelson, the greatest British naval hero of the time, never made an appearance in the Hornblower books.
In 1951, Gregory Peck starred as the titular character in the cinematic adaptation "Captain Horatio Hornblower", which was based on the "The Happy Return". Hornblower sailed onto the small screen in eight television movies during the late 1990s.
Without Hornblower, there may not have been a Captain James T. Kirk. According to "The Making of Star Trek," creator Gene Roddenberry described his science-fiction hero as a "space-age Horatio Hornblower" in his pitch to television executives. Science-fiction author David Feintuch was also inspired by Hornblower when he wrote his "Seafort Saga" books. Another science-fiction author, David Weber, created a space-age female version, Honor Harrington.