The Happy Return
Oct. 9th, 2010 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anteros_lmcI read The Happy Return waaaay back in August, where the heck did the last couple of months go? Anyway here are a few thoughts such as I can remember them.
Initially I found that there is a bit of a disjunct between The Happy Return and Hornblower and the Atropos which is inevitable really given the sequence they were written in. It took me a while to recognise the characters in The Happy Return and to get my head round the setting. The reappearance of Bush without any introduction threw me slightly, although as he appears only occasionally and says little more than "aye aye, sir" for much of the book, I sometimes tended to forget he was there. Having said that, Bush does do a spectacular bit of scene stealing with "Today is Sunday, sir." So perfectly correct, perfectly understated and perfectly Bush. To my mind it's one of the best scenes in the book. And here it is for those who may not have read it.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
On the downside I found the whole South American mad dictator business a bit contrived and the chracterisation is crude and very much "of its time". Although I did rather like the perversity of the Lydia having to take on the Natividad twice.
It took me quite a while to connect Happy Return Hornblower with the other versions of the character that already live in my head. I had grown very fond of Atropos Hornblower but Lydia's captain is so obviously a miserable cantankerous git that it takes time to warm to him. But that's part of Forester's trick isn't it? He goes out of his way to paint such an unattractive picture of the man that it's almost inconceivable that by the time the Lydia puts in to St Helens that you will love him from the tips of his receding greying hair to the toes of his laddered darned stockings. But of course you do.
As always Forester is adept as poking fun at his hero. I really did laugh out loud at Hornblower's determination not to give in to his garrulous tendencies.
God love him!
And so to Lady Barbara.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
esmerelda_t once described Lady Barbara as Archie in a dress and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with her! She pretty much fulfills the same function as Archie. Fair blue eyed aristocratic love interest with a unique license to tease Hornblower and the ability to draw him out of his shell. She has a pragmatism and determination that's very Archie. And as for all those meaningful glances across the deck, well what can I say?! I was going to add that Lady Barbara clearly doesn't share Archie's damnably bad luck but considering that she is captured by a privateer, abandoned in a town rife with yellow fever, survives a ferocious engagement holed up in the cable tier and to cap it all has the misfortune to fall in love with that hidebound bundle of fear and loathing that is Horatio Hornblower perhaps she does share Archie's unlucky streak after all! Still at least she gets a canon kiss with Hornblower. And by the time they do eventually give in to all those longing glances and unrequited urges I very nearly cheered!
One last thought...The Happy Return inevitably reads more like the the start of the story than the chronologically preceding books (funny that...;) and to be honest I am now inclined to think that the best way to read these books is in the order they were written rather than chronologically.
Initially I found that there is a bit of a disjunct between The Happy Return and Hornblower and the Atropos which is inevitable really given the sequence they were written in. It took me a while to recognise the characters in The Happy Return and to get my head round the setting. The reappearance of Bush without any introduction threw me slightly, although as he appears only occasionally and says little more than "aye aye, sir" for much of the book, I sometimes tended to forget he was there. Having said that, Bush does do a spectacular bit of scene stealing with "Today is Sunday, sir." So perfectly correct, perfectly understated and perfectly Bush. To my mind it's one of the best scenes in the book. And here it is for those who may not have read it.
There were still evident many signs of yesterday's battle, quite apart from the sheeted corpses and the dark stains, not thoroughly swabbed, which disfigured the white planking. The decks were furrowed and grooved in all directions, with jagged splinters still standing up here and there. There were shot holes in the ship's sides with canvas roughly stretched over them. The port sills were stained black with powder; on one of them an eighteen-pounder shot stood out, half buried in the tough oak. But on the other hand an immense amount of work had been done, from laying out the dead to securing the guns and frapping the breechings. Apart from the weariness of her crew, the Lydia was ready to fight another battle at two minutes' notice.
Hornblower felt a prick of shame that so much should have been done while he slept lazily in
his hammock chair. He forced himself to feel no illwill on that account. Although to praise Bush's
work was to admit his own deficiencies he felt that he must be generous.
"Very good indeed, Mr Bush," he said, walking over to him; yet his natural shyness combined
with his feeling of shame to make his speech stilted. "I am both astonished and pleased at the work
you have accomplished."
"Today is Sunday, sir," said Bush, simply.
So it was. Sunday was the day of the captain's inspection, when he went round every part of
the ship examining everything, to see that the first lieutenant was doing his duty in keeping the ship efficient. On Sunday the ship had to be swept and garnished, all the falls of rope flemished down, the hands fallen in by divisions in their best clothes, divine service held, the Articles of War read — Sunday was the day when the professional ability of every first lieutenant in His Britannic Majesty's Navy was tried in the balance.
Hornblower could not fight down a smile at this ingenious explanation.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
On the downside I found the whole South American mad dictator business a bit contrived and the chracterisation is crude and very much "of its time". Although I did rather like the perversity of the Lydia having to take on the Natividad twice.
It took me quite a while to connect Happy Return Hornblower with the other versions of the character that already live in my head. I had grown very fond of Atropos Hornblower but Lydia's captain is so obviously a miserable cantankerous git that it takes time to warm to him. But that's part of Forester's trick isn't it? He goes out of his way to paint such an unattractive picture of the man that it's almost inconceivable that by the time the Lydia puts in to St Helens that you will love him from the tips of his receding greying hair to the toes of his laddered darned stockings. But of course you do.
As always Forester is adept as poking fun at his hero. I really did laugh out loud at Hornblower's determination not to give in to his garrulous tendencies.
This voyage he had started with the firm resolve (like a drinker who cannot trust himself to drink only in moderation) to say nothing whatever to his officers except what was necessitated by routine, and his resolution had been hardened by the stress which his orders laid upon the need for extreme secrecy. For seven months he had held to it, growing more and more silent every day as the unnatural state of affairs took a firmer grip upon him. In the Atlantic he had sometimes discussed the weather with Mr Bush. Round in the Pacific he only condescended to clear his throat.
God love him!
And so to Lady Barbara.
esmerelda_t once described Lady Barbara as Archie in a dress and I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with her! She pretty much fulfills the same function as Archie. Fair blue eyed aristocratic love interest with a unique license to tease Hornblower and the ability to draw him out of his shell. She has a pragmatism and determination that's very Archie. And as for all those meaningful glances across the deck, well what can I say?! I was going to add that Lady Barbara clearly doesn't share Archie's damnably bad luck but considering that she is captured by a privateer, abandoned in a town rife with yellow fever, survives a ferocious engagement holed up in the cable tier and to cap it all has the misfortune to fall in love with that hidebound bundle of fear and loathing that is Horatio Hornblower perhaps she does share Archie's unlucky streak after all! Still at least she gets a canon kiss with Hornblower. And by the time they do eventually give in to all those longing glances and unrequited urges I very nearly cheered! One last thought...The Happy Return inevitably reads more like the the start of the story than the chronologically preceding books (funny that...;) and to be honest I am now inclined to think that the best way to read these books is in the order they were written rather than chronologically.
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Date: 2010-10-09 09:05 pm (UTC)The only affection I could scrape up for her before was when H came home with typhus.
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Date: 2010-10-09 10:25 pm (UTC)Btw talking of Archie and Lady Barbara I can highly recommend
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Date: 2010-10-09 10:52 pm (UTC)I find the women in Hornblower-land a little remote and unreal. I don't think it stems from Forester's writing, and the movie actresses were good. I don't know what it is. The men in these stories are just way more vivid for me. (Even minor NPC types.) I guess that some fiction worlds are just sort of phallocentric, and others are not.
My own next fiction (with promised shagging, and a kitten cameo appearance,) should go up tonight.
I am noodling with a Bush kid-fic. It will have (hopefully vivid,) girls in it,
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Date: 2010-10-09 11:28 pm (UTC)I guess that some fiction worlds are just sort of phallocentric, and others are not.
Rofl!! Oh lordy, yes I think it's fair to say that this particular fictional world is just a little bit phallocentric! :D
My own next fiction (with promised shagging, and a kitten cameo appearance,) should go up tonight.
I'll be looking out for your latest installment :) Although I was rather forcibly reminded of the risks Horatio and Archie are taking by shagging onboard ship when I came across some original sodomy courts martial transcripts today (I was looking for a different court martial, honestly!!). They are tragic, painful and disturbing in equal measure :(
I am noodling with a Bush kid-fic. It will have (hopefully vivid,) girls in it
I'll also look forward to your Bush fic. With girls?! *gasp*
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Date: 2010-10-09 11:02 pm (UTC)And secretly Horatio would love it. :P
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Date: 2010-10-09 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-10-09 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-10 07:59 pm (UTC)Of course, doing so might make a person more aware of some of the continuity goofs that Forester made. In THE HAPPY RETURN, Hornblower is said to have been a lieutenant in the battle against the Spanish frigate Castilla. When the duel is actually accounted for in ATROPOS, he is already a post captain.
Great Review, by the way!
Dave
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Date: 2010-10-11 08:59 pm (UTC)Well that's one way to do it!
Perhaps once I've read the books in "chronological" order, I'll go back and read them all over again in the order they were written in :)
Of course, doing so might make a person more aware of some of the continuity goofs that Forester made.
Indeed. It doesn't pay to examine Forester's history too closely.
Glad you enjoyed the review, although I appreciate it's rather silly. I do really enjoy Forester's sly sense of humour though :)
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Date: 2010-10-13 03:12 pm (UTC)The HORNBLOWER saga is fairly easy to read in random order, possibly because it was written in much the same way. Each story is pretty much complete in itself. I think the MASTER AND COMMANDER series is better read in order. For one thing, O'Brian wrote them in order, and there are plot lines that extend through several stories.
By the way, ships and vessels depicted in my icons are by me and are of ships and vessels from my yet to be published STONE ISLAND SEA STORIES. (Well, one icon is my interpretation of a dragon transport from Naomi Novik's TEMERAIRE series.)
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Date: 2010-10-11 06:09 am (UTC)Well, I don't. :p Happy Return was the first of the books that I read, and after I finished it, I turned to the Aubrey/Maturin series and didn't go back to Hornblower for months! I never really warmed to book Hornblower. I still don't even like him, let alone love him. I would like him if what was hidden underneath that cold exterior and black mood were, to me, an interesting and/or likeable character. I would put up with all the drama the missing social skills and everything. But I just don't see anything there. When he's been "drawn out of his shell", he seems completely the same to me! :D What exactly is it that you love about him?
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Date: 2010-10-11 09:21 pm (UTC)Hmmm....I'm not being very convincing here am I? I'm deliberately avoiding reading any O'Brian until I finish reading the Hornblower series but I can't deny that I have warmed more to some of the historical characters I've read about and of course you'll also have noticed that it's not book Hornblower who I write about....
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Date: 2010-10-12 07:08 am (UTC)Hornblower is so riven with insecurities and is so unable to appreciate his own undeniable worth that it's hard not to feel sorry for him.
But therein lies the problem for me - I don't actually think he's worth that much. He's a good captain, yes, and a clever strategist and understands what he does and has great intuition etc. etc. etc. But I don't care for all that. I'd like to see some personal traits that are even remotely attractive. He wouldn't even have to be a "good" person; wickedness would catch my interest too. Or something - anything other than this constant superfluous inner drama. But all I see is a grumpy and self-absorbed yammering dork. If he feels he's ridiculous and even, at times, despicable, well, I think he's right! I'm not a patient enough person to like him simply for being insecure, I guess. He's not 16, he should get over it at some point! :p
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Date: 2010-10-12 09:09 pm (UTC)Could I explain why I love Archie instead? That would be much easier! ;)
But all I see is a grumpy and self-absorbed yammering dork.
But I think that's maybe it isn't it? That's exactly how Hornblower sees himself and, apart from Lieutenant Hornblower, Forester only allows us to see Hornblower's own jaundiced view of himself. However the fact that he inspires such devotion in the other people he comes into contact with suggests that this isn't perhaps an accurate view of the man. He derides himself as being a coward but he inspires his men to bravery against the odds, he sees himself as ugly but women (and men? ;) continually fall for him, he thinks himself a fool but his superiors respect his judgment. Maybe we can only see the real man through other people's reactions to him and those people invariably seem to love and respect him. Or maybe I'm just talking shite ;)
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Date: 2010-10-13 06:45 am (UTC)If that is so and there is, "in reality", a great, interesting, shiny personality hidden underneath, the problem would still remain: We don't get to see it. If it is there or not doesn't change a thing about the rather off-putting circumstance that I get book after book full of the one of the most tedious charcters I've ever read about. The assumption that there might just maybe be hidden a potentially somehow different personality underneath is just not enough to endear him to me.
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Date: 2010-10-14 06:18 pm (UTC)Now can we get on to discussing Archie instead? ;)
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Date: 2010-10-11 01:18 pm (UTC)For example, he thinks Bush is never afraid -- while blaming himself for unmanly fears. It never once occurs to him that everyone is afraid.
Or, the scene where he is in the bathtub, thinking he has ugly legs like a spider...
He is just so hard on himself. He is gruff, because he feels he is inherently ridiculous, and that if he lightens up people will mock him.
But underneath he is intelligent and has a sort of wide eyed sincerety that he never really looses. He really tries hard. He lacks the sort of birth given swagger of Archie, or the dont care confidence of Bush. He wants desperatly to be liked for himself, but he can't imagine that he will be.
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Date: 2010-10-11 09:31 pm (UTC)For example, he thinks Bush is never afraid -- while blaming himself for unmanly fears. It never once occurs to him that everyone is afraid.
That's so true! I hadn't really consciously thought about that before.
But underneath he is intelligent and has a sort of wide eyed sincerety that he never really looses. He really tries hard.
Brilliantly put. But then you do have such a wonderful grasp of these characters :)
He wants desperatly to be liked for himself, but he can't imagine that he will be.
Which is why Archie is so important to him ;)
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Date: 2010-10-13 11:53 pm (UTC)Oh Bush. <333
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