SeriesStack

Horatio Hornblower (chronological order) Books in Order

by C. S. ForesterLiterature & Fiction

10 books from Mr Midshipman Hornblower (1920) to Lord Hornblower (1946). Rated 4.7 across 15,522 listener reviews.

Reading order

  1. Mr Midshipman Hornblower

    Book 1 1920 4.8 (3.1k)

    Shaking off this label, a shy and lonely 17-year-old, Horatio Hornblower, embarks on a memorable career in Nelson's navy on HMS Justinian....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  2. Lieutenant Hornblower

    Book 2 1920 4.8 (2k)

    Having now paid his dues as midshipman, Horatio Hornblower returns as a newly promoted Lieutenant, in the second instalment of C.S. Forester's beloved naval series....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  3. Hornblower and the "Hotspur"

    Book 3 1920 by C.S. Forester 4.6 (1.7k)

    Only 27 years old, Horatio Hornblower has distinguished himself as a capable and intrepid officer in the Royal Navy. On a reconnaissance mission with the Hotspur, a three-masted frigate under his command, Hornblower and his crew narrowly…

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  4. Hornblower and the Crisis

    Book 4 2010 4.4 (794)

    In this, the final Horatio Hornblower adventure, C.S. Forester throws his hero into one of the most challenging missions yet....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  5. Hornblower and the "Atropos"

    Book 5 1920 by C Forester 4.5 (2.2k)

    In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain.

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  6. The Happy Return

    Book 6 1937 4.7 (1.3k)

    Horatio Hornblower sails South American waters and comes face to face with a mad revolutionary....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  7. A Ship of the Line

    Book 7 1920 4.7 (1.3k)

    Her Majesty's ship Sutherland is a humdrum ship of the line. But in command is none other than the heroic Captain Hornblower....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  8. Flying Colours

    Book 8 1939 4.7 (1.2k)

    Hornblower becomes a national hero when he escapes a French firing squad. But the 'Terror of the Mediterranean' becomes Europe's most wanted man....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  9. The Commodore

    Book 9 1945 4.7 (1k)

    In a gripping adventure in the northern waters, Hornblower must use all his skill and experience to prevent a catastrophic war....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

  10. Lord Hornblower

    Book 10 1946 4.6 (897)

    The Admiral's face was grim as he gave Commodore Hornblower his orders. The situation was critical: mutiny was an infection that could spread through the fleet like the plague....

    Kindle Paperback Audiobook

Adapted for screen

About this reading order

Books are listed in the series' own numbering, which for Horatio Hornblower (chronological order) is also the best order to read them in. Years are first publication where we could confirm it, and otherwise the first audiobook release.

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