C. S. Forester (1899–1966)
Author of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
About the Author
Born Cecil Louis Troughton Smith on August 27, 1899, in Cairo, Egypt, where his father was a government official, C. S. Forester grew up mainly in England. He was educated at Dulwich College, studying medicine briefly before decidint to become a writer. Forester moved to the United States before show more the start of World War II, and lived in Berkeley, California, until his death in 1966. Although Forester was a journalist, a novelist and a Hollywood scriptwriter, he is probably best known for his historical fiction, particularly the series of novels that feature Horatio Hornblower. The eleven-book series begins with Mr. Midshipmen Hornblower, in which the seventeen-year old Hornblower joins the British navy in 1793, just as the Napoleonic Wars are about to begin. Hornblower's continuing adventures, as well as his advancement to the highest ranks of the navy, are chronicled in further books, including Beat to Quarters, Flying Colours, Commodore Hornblower, Lord Hornblower, The Happy Return, and A Ship of the Line, for which Forester recived the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1939. Several of Forester's novels were made into films, most notably Payment Deferred (his first novel published in 1926), Eagle Squadron, The Commandos (the movie title was The Commandos Strike at Dawn), Captain Horatio Hornblower, Sink the Bismarck!, and The African Queen, starring Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. Forester's nonfiction includes The Age of Fighting Sail: The Story of the Naval War of 1812, as well as biographies of Lord Nelson, Napoleon, Josephine, and King Louis XIV. He also wrote an autobiography, Long Before Forty. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Series
Works by C. S. Forester
Captain Hornblower R. N.: Hornblower and the Atropos / The Happy Return / A Ship of the Line (1937) 352 copies
Admiral Hornblower Omnibus: Flying Colours / The Commodore / Lord Hornblower / Hornblower in the West Indies (1996) 279 copies
The Ship / Mr. Midshipman Hornblower / The Earthly Paradise / The General / The Captain from Connecticut / The African… (1977) 37 copies
Captain Horatio Hornblower, Part II 15 copies
Captain Horatio Hornblower (Hornblower and the Atropos; The Happy Return; A Ship of the Line; Flying Colors) (2019) — Author — 13 copies
A Ship of the Line / Flying Colours / The Commodore / Lord Hornblower / Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies (1994) 11 copies
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower / Lieutenant Hornblower / Hornblower and the Hotspur / Hornblower and the Crisis (1953) — Author — 7 copies
The Last Encounter [short story] 7 copies
Captain Horatio Hornblower, Part I 7 copies
The Bedchamber Mystery with which is included the story of The Eleven Deckchairs and Modernity and Maternity (1944) 6 copies
One Wonderful Week 6 copies
Horatio Hornblower books 3 copies
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower / Lieutenant Hornblower / Hornblower and the Hotspur / Hornblower and the Atropos / Beat to… (1994) 3 copies
Capt Horatio Hornblower 2 copies
The Point and the Edge [short story] 2 copies
The Voyage of the "Annie Marble" 2 copies
Il capitano Hornblower 1 copy
"Bismarck'? Bat?r?n?z" 1 copy
Capitan Horacio Hornblower 1 copy
Ship in the line 1 copy
Orgoglio e passione 1 copy
L'incrociatore 1 copy
Konvoi 1943 1 copy
Hornblower's Temptation 1 copy
The Point and the Edge 1 copy
Il cielo e la foresta 1 copy
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower / Lieutenant Hornblower / Hornblower and the Atropos / The Happy Return 1 copy
Hornblower i Östersjön 1 copy
Paradiso terrestre 1 copy
Il ritorno di Hornblower 1 copy
Hornblower During the Crisis / Hornblower and the Atropos / Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies 1 copy
Rendevous 1 copy
Fähnrich Hornblower 1 copy
Castigo Adiado 1 copy
Simples Assassínio 1 copy
Rivulets of Blood 1 copy
Associated Works
The Greatest Sailing Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Seven Unforgettable Stories (2002) — Contributor — 75 copies
The Mammoth Book of Hearts of Oak: Classic and New Stories from the Age of Fighting Sail (2001) — Contributor — 31 copies
The Greatest War Stories Ever Told: Twenty-Four Incredible War Tales (2001) — Contributor — 26 copies
To the Queen's Taste: The First Supplement to 101 Years' Entertainment; Consisting of the Best Stories Published in the… (1946) — Contributor — 23 copies
Van Jules Verne tot Isaac Asimov de vijftig beste science fiction verhalen (1981) — Contributor — 15 copies
More Murder on Cue: Stage, Screen & Radio Favorites: Stories from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (1988) — Contributor — 11 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction August 1958, Vol. 15, No. 2 (1958) — Contributor — 8 copies
Het dagboek in de sneeuw : en andere griezelverhalen — Contributor — 7 copies
Voor en na middernacht : vierendertig beroemde spook- en griezelverhalen (1949) — Contributor — 7 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: Bel Ria • The Naked Country • The Physicians • Captain Horatio Hornblower •… (1977) 7 copies
20th Century Fox Studio Classics Collection: Volume 11 — Writer — 6 copies
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction June 1956, Vol. 10, No. 6 (1956) — Contributor — 5 copies
The Great Train Robbery • Blind Love • Brown on Resolution • Where are the Children? • Among the Elephants (1974) 5 copies
The Best from Cosmopolitan — Contributor — 4 copies
Payment Deferred: A Play in a Prologue, Three Acts and an Epilogue (1934) — Original novel — 3 copies
Heroes of War Collection - Navy Battles (The Enemy Below, The Frogmen, Morituri, Sink the Bismarck!) — Writer — 3 copies
The Saturday Evening Post Stories 1962 — Contributor — 3 copies
Selecciones Reader's Digest: (libros condensados) El Gran Robo del Tren. Un Hombre Contra un Crucero. La Canción de… (1977) — Contributor — 2 copies
Best Stories from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine — Contributor — 2 copies
High Moment: Stories of Supreme Crises in the Lives of Great Men — Contributor — 2 copies
Argosy, January 7, 1939 — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy (UK) [Vol. IV No. 5, June 1943] — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy, September 17, 1938 — Contributor — 1 copy
The Undying Past — Contributor — 1 copy
Murder Mixture: An Anthology of Crime Stories — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy, May 14, 1938 — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy, March 19, 1938 — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy: December 1964 — Contributor — 1 copy
Saturday Evening Post July 16, 1966 No. 15 — Contributor — 1 copy
Great tales of adventure: A selection of condensed novels and full-length short stories (1982) — Contributor — 1 copy
Argosy, January 18, 1941 — Contributor — 1 copy
Lilliput Magazine. November - December 1952. Vol. 31 no. 6. Issue no. 186. — Contributor — 1 copy
Forever England [1935 film] — Original novel — 1 copy
Ellery Queen's 1966 Anthology — Contributor — 1 copy
Synnitön lankeemus [1943 film] — Original story — 1 copy
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - 1958/08 — Contributor — 1 copy
My Most Exciting Story: A Collection of Stories Chosen by Their Own Authors (1936) — Contributor — 1 copy
Eagle Squadron [1942 film] — Story — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Forester, C. S.
- Legal name
- Smith, Cecil Louis Troughton
- Other names
- Forester, Cecil Scott
- Birthdate
- 1899-08-27
- Date of death
- 1966-04-02
- Burial location
- Loma Vista Memorial Park, Fullerton, California, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Cairo, Egypt
- Place of death
- Fullerton, California, USA
- Places of residence
- Cairo, Egypt
London, England, UK
Berkeley, California, USA
Washington, D.C., USA
Fullerton, California, USA - Education
- Alleyn's School, London
Dulwich College, London
Guy's Hospital, London - Occupations
- novelist
short-story writer
journalist
screenwriter - Relationships
- Forester, John (son)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 145
- Also by
- 156
- Members
- 30,091
- Popularity
- #669
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 528
- ISBNs
- 970
- Languages
- 19
- Favorited
- 116
Vivid, confusing and simple, the novel does not have the depth of characterization of the Hornblower novels. Also, it seems to me that Forester was inclined to make all his US protagonists devoutly Christian, "The Captain from Connectictut"s eponymous protagonist is devout, although surely not Lutheran.… (more)