C.S. Forester - The Commodore - 1945

"The Commodore" by C.S. Forester - Michael Joseph, London - 1945 first UK edition first printing - 15cmx13cm - condition: book in very good condition, minor rubbing to edges, in original first issue dustwrapper with some wear to edges

The Commodore (published 1945) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester.

The novel was first published as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post, and occasioned controversy with Hornblower in an implied sexual encounter with a married Russian Countess as the Post's first adulterers. As Forester says in his Hornblower Companion, "...it really caused quite a flutter". Forester wanted to give Hornblower the opportunity to catch typhus, although he does comment that he believes that Hornblower caught typhus during the siege rather than in bed.

The historical accuracy of this book is limited: Forester later wrote that he did not know what British naval forces, if any, were engaged at the siege of Riga. (Historically they were commanded by Thomas Byam Martin.) The technical detail of the bomb vessels is incorrect in almost every respect. British bomb vessels had not been ketch-rigged since the 1780s; the mortars were crewed not by the bomb-vessels' officers and men but by specialist detachments of the Royal Marine Artillery; and many other points. Ivan Essen is presented as the governor of Riga throughout the campaign, but he was actually replaced by Filippo Paulucci delle Roncole a few months before victory was achieved. Also Hornblower is given a pair of percussion cap pistols by his wife (one is stolen by his secretary in to use in his attempted assassination of the Tsar). This is anachronistic as the percussion cap was not invented until 1822.[1]

The date of publication (1945) reveals Forester's preoccupation in The Commodore—he parallels the political situation with that in the Second World War. In both cases, Russia was originally allied with a continental dictator (Hitler/Napoleon) but changed sides after being treacherously invaded. In both cases, Sweden remained neutral and traded with both sides. Russia similarly occupied other Baltic territories (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) raising doubts about the correct response among the British government. In The Commodore (but not in the real Napoleonic period), as in the Second World War, the Royal Navy offered substantial help to Russia: at the siege of Riga, and by guarding the Arctic convoys. Less obviously, Forester draws parallels between the early 19th century and his own time in one or two of the other Hornblower novels.