On Spain's coasts

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On Spain's Coasts is the second novel by CS Foresters from the Hornblower cycle . The book was first published in 1938. The original title is "A Ship of the Line". In the USA the book was published under the title "Ships of the Line". The film The King's Admiral is based in part on this book.

action

After his voyage with the Lydia , Hornblower was given command of a liner , the Sutherland , the area of ​​operation is the Mediterranean. Before leaving, he is invited to dinner by his squadron commander, Admiral Sir Percy Leighton, who has meanwhile married Lady Wellesley, whom he admires . Lady Wellesley manages to get the silent Hornblower to describe his fight against the Natividad in detail. Even his senior colleagues are clearly impressed. In the novel, Lady Wellesley is the younger sister of Arthur Wellesley , the Duke of Wellington. As was customary at the time, the Sutherland took over escort for a merchant squadron of the East India Company on the way to the Mediterranean , in order to protect their ships against French pirates. With great difficulty, Hornblower succeeds in repelling the attack by two pirates. In order to fully man his ship, he presses sailors from the company into his service, although this is strictly forbidden.

In the Mediterranean he supports the struggle of the Spanish guerrillas against the French troops . However, he finds little support from Admiral Leighton. His hour strikes when he meets a squadron of four French ships of the line. The other ships in his squadron are too far away to intervene. Nevertheless, he attacks because he believes that he can damage the enemy ships so badly that they can no longer be used for the rest of the war. He reached his goal with great losses, but had to strike the flag and was taken prisoner.

In the next volume ( Under the Waving Flag ) he escapes captivity through a series of lucky coincidences and is celebrated as a hero after his return to England and made Knight of the Order of Bath . He marries the now widowed Lady Wellesley and for the first time in his life has no money worries.

expenditure

  • A ship of the line . London: Joseph 1938. Numerous new editions
  • A ship of the line . London: Penguin 2006. ISBN 978-0-14102704-3
German translations
  • On Spain's coasts . (A Ship of the Line). Novel. From the English by Fritz von Bothmer . Berlin: Krüger 1939.
Vol. 2 of the Hornblower trilogy in the first German edition.
  • Hornblower on Spain's coast . Translated by Eugen von Beulwitz. Ullstein Taschenbuchverl. 2005. ((A Horatio Hornblower novel. 6.) ISBN 978-3-54826263-5