Recent reading

[luzula]

Armadale by Wilkie Collins (1866)
I read what regshoe tells me to, apparently! It was a great choice to listen to this as an audiobook rather than read it with my eyes; the reader doing Lydia Gwilt was particularly good. I enjoyed this dramatic ride, but I won't attempt a proper write-up when such good ones already exist. Currently I am reading this Lydia Gwilt fic, with a delightful narrative voice.

Hornblower and the Hotspur by C S Forester (1962)
I am really appreciating these books now, and greatly enjoyed this! It has some good Hornblower-and-Bush interaction, along with some exciting naval adventure. And some peak Hornblower passages such as They had not done this as a joke, or in a silly attempt to win his favour. He had to believe the unbelievable, and accept the fact that they had done it because they liked him. That showed their poor judgement; gratification warred with guilt in his mind, yet the fact that they had dared to do such a thing was a strange but undeniable confirmation that the Hotspur was welding herself into a fighting entity. Wow. And then there’s the bit where he goes through with a wedding to someone he doesn’t love because he can’t say no and feels guilty about disappointing her...

Am reading various Hornblower fic now, and enjoying that, too!

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

I loved the Hornblower novels so much. I read them in college and just inhaled them all. I probably read them all at least twice. Someday I need to find the TV shows.

[petra]

It is entirely on-brand for me that my Hornblower icon contains no Hornblower. I found him a very difficult character to spend time in the head of when I read the books (for fun) in college, and I doubt he's improved with time.

[sanguinity]

There's a movie starring Gregory Peck, too, which adapts the original three novels (Beat to Quarters through Flying Colours). Aspects of it have not aged well, but parts of it are fun.

But if you like radio dramas, there are also two good Hornblower radio dramas. CBS did one in 1952-1953 (iirc) covering Beat to Quarters through Commodore, plus Midshipman and Lieutenant (which is nearly as much as had been published at the time). Sound quality is iffy (it's very 1950s radio drama!), but there's a lot of fun over-the-top dramatic musical cues that make me laugh. You can find copies of that all over, including on Internet Archive.

And in the 1980s the BBC did a high-audio-quality adaptation of Midshipman, Lieutenant, Hotspur, and Lord. It's difficult to lay hands on, but I can hook you up if you're interested.

[sanguinity]

Hooray!

That is such a choice Hornblower quote. I swear, it's impossible for that man to let himself have nice things. But I am also ENDLESSLY amused that Forester wrote literal curtain-fic. :-D

Maria deserves so much better. At least Hornblower tries to be a good husband in Hotspur, which he doesn't really in the original trilogy much.

If you're looking to continue, Hornblower and the Crisis (which Forester never finished, and was published posthumously), picks up immediately after Hotspur and has some nice Hornblower-and-Bush stuff at the beginning before it wanders off Trafalgar-ward. After that, it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for Bush-and-Hornblower stuff, your probable next best bet is Commodore, which is set immediately after Flying Colours. But if you're okay with not having Bush around, I think Midshipman and West Indies are the next two strongest novels, representing the extreme opposite ends of Hornblower's career.

I don't have a fic rec list for Hotspur, but Queer Fancies by shiplizard and binz is a great porn series that is mostly Hotspur-era. Various pairings, various kinks, and the characterizations are influenced by the TV series, so you might find that some stories in the series speak more to you than others. (A lot of Hotspur-era fic is strongly influenced by the TV series, you'll find...)

And I'm of course happy to throw you a list of my own Hotspur-era stuff, if you would enjoy that.

[princessofgeeks]

Thank you so much! I'm not really much for radio dramas, but I am glad to know they were made!

[regshoe]

I read what regshoe tells me to, apparently!

:D I'm glad this one was a good recommendation! Ooh, yes, I can imagine Lydia's letters working very well in an audiobook with the right reader.

Oh dear, that is an incredibly Hornblower passage... I've recently read The Commodore (not written up yet because Kidnapped has swept everything else from my mind, but I'll post a review eventually), which has some lovely Hornblower-and-Bush moments—I'll look forward to more of that when I get to the earlier-set books.

[luzula]

It's nice to find a series you enjoy! After a while it starts to feel kind of like reading fic...

[luzula]

I can see why. I guess I do enjoy the fic possibilities of, well, the inside of his head. Although I don't see myself writing in this fandom--at least so far, it's purely reading.

[luzula]

Aww, it was very nice of them to make him curtains!

Yes, I appreciate his attempts, even as they also make me cringe. Also, it's nice to see an 19th century character for whom flowery letter-writing does not come naturally and he has to really work at it. I expect that was really the case for a lot of people, who used letter-writing manuals and copied phrases from other people's letters.

Thanks for the guidance on what book to read next! Are your Hotspur-era fics labeled as such? In that case I can find them myself--otherwise please share. : ) Just a linkdump is fine.

[luzula]

It was a good recommendation, yes! : )

Are you reading the Hornblower books in publication order, then, and not internal chronological order? My reading order is guided by sanguinity's recommendations...

[sanguinity]

A rec I should have made in the previous post! tgarnsl's Across the Line (only one bed)

And then my stuff, some of which is easily identifiable as Hotspur-era, and some of which isn't:

A Well-Rooted Briar (fantasy series)

His Majesty's Kraken (fantasy series, first three works are Hotspur-era)

The Hornblowers' to Command (OT3 series, first four stories are Hotspur-era, then a Flying Colours-era story)

The Adventures of Goatratio Hornblower (humour, with podfic by ljm)

Christmas on the Hotspur (fluff, with podfic by ljm)

The Only Comfort (missing scene, I've recorded a podfic I still need to edit, I'll try to get that up soonish)

[sanguinity]

Oo, I have excellent posts to look forward to from you then, Kidnapped and Hornblower both. And I'll take this as my advance warning to finish pulling together my Commodore rec list...

[luzula]

Oh, thank you! : )

[regshoe]

Yes, I'm reading in publication order! Although I did read Lieutenant Hornblower out of order (also on sanguinity's recommendation) to assure myself that they really do get better later on :D

[regshoe]

Ooh, excellent, thank you :D