(A repeat of our April 1, 2017 featured text.)

C.S. (Cecil Scott) Forester (1899-1966) was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare such as the 11-book Horatio Hornblower saga, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic wars. Two of the Hornblower books, A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours, were jointly awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in 1938. His other works include The African Queen (adapted to film in 1951 by John Huston).

In Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, the first volume of the saga, we meet Horatio Hornblower, a young man of 17, beginning his career in January 1794 as an inexperienced midshipman in the British Navy fighting against Napoleon and his tyranny of Europe. Bullied and forced into a duel, he takes an even chance. Later, he has many more chances to show his skills and ingenuities: from sailing a ship full of wetted and swelling rice to imprisonment and saving the lives of shipwrecked sailors. Along the way, he fights galleys, feeds cattle, stays out of the way of the guillotine, and makes friends with a Duchess. He becomes a man and develops the strength of character which will make him a hero to his men, and to all England.

We now have 41 C.S. Forester titles on Faded Page including the 11 Hornblower volumes. Come join us and proof a few pages to help us bring other public domain titles to Canada. More information about volunteering is available on our companion site Distributed Proofreaders Canada.